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on 8/4/26 at 3:15 PM
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has developed a Strategic Roadmap for Nuclear Reactor Safety Research to guide future collaborative research efforts. One of the roadmap’s central recommendations is to strengthen thermal-hydraulics research (a foundational area of nuclear power plant performance and reactor safety) across both current- and next-generation technologies and new applications of nuclear energy.
The roadmap highlights the urgent need to respond to the recent closure of key research infrastructures, such as Framatome’s PKL facility in Germany, which has led to a loss of both experimental capacity and critical expertise. Without co-ordinated international action, the resulting capability gap will continue to widen.
The NEA is proposing the creation of the Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Experiment for Nuclear Analysis and Safety (NEA/ATHENA) Framework, an innovative international framework designed to sustain and integrate thermal-hydraulic research on a global scale. In contrast to the current array of independent thermal-hydraulic projects, ATHENA will foster collaboration by connecting experimental facilities, pooling resources and aligning co-funded initiatives with broadly shared stakeholder priorities. This co-operative approach will ensure the efficiency, long-term continuity and advancement of capabilities that individual projects cannot achieve, especially in a rapidly evolving field. ATHENA is a direct response to key recommendations from the Committee of the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and the Strategic Roadmap for Nuclear Reactor Safety Research, addressing critical gaps and challenges in nuclear safety research.
While ATHENA, like all NEA joint projects, operates independently from the CSNI programme of work, it will remain tightly aligned with CSNI-led initiatives to ensure that its experimental outcomes support safety analysis and code validation efforts. To this end, ATHENA will actively pursue opportunities for establishing centralised data repositories, organising international standard problems (ISPs) and conducting benchmarking exercises. These initiatives will be carried out in close collaboration with the CSNI Working Group on the Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA), ensuring a seamless integration of research activities and the maximisation of their impact on nuclear safety advancements.
