Proceedings Series – serie

The future of nuclear energy is driven by the people and knowledge at its core and empowered by the technology that moves it forward. Effective nuclear knowledge management and the development of skilled professionals are fundamental to ensuring a safe, efficient, and sustainable nuclear sector. This publication presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management and Human Resources Development: Challenges and Opportunities, held by the IAEA from 1 to 5 July 2024 in Vienna. The conference convened more than 700 experts and practitioners from around the world to share experiences, explore innovative approaches, and examine how to address today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities. The proceedings highlight practical solutions and success stories that can support nuclear organizations, partners, and national and international stakeholders in building and maintaining the workforce required for the future of nuclear power.

The integration of nuclear techniques and technologies into food safety and control systems is critical and it is essential to raise awareness about their comparative advantages. One effective approach is to foster dialogue and communication among key stakeholders, including research institutions, academia, regulatory authorities, and industry. This Proceedings Series publication covers the symposium held in Vienna, Austria (27–31 May 2024). This event brought together global experts and stakeholders to discuss the protection of the food supply chain and explore ways to improve its resilience to a variety of challenges including climate change, foodborne diseases, food fraud and antimicrobial resistance. It also addressed external pressures such as pandemics, conflicts and other catastrophic events. Participants presented both established and emerging applications of nuclear and complementary technologies, while also discussing future perspectives and opportunities.

Floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) are an innovative solution for delivering clean, reliable energy to coastal and remote areas. This publication summarises the key outcomes of the International Symposium on the Deployment of Floating Nuclear Power Plants – Benefits and Challenges, held by the IAEA in Vienna in November 2023. It brings together insights from international experts on technical, legal, safety and regulatory aspects of FNPP deployment. The report provides information for policymakers, regulators and industry professionals interested in the safe and effective use of FNPPs to support global energy and climate goals.

Focused on the safety of evolutionary and innovative reactor designs, the conference facilitated exchange of experiences and discussions on potential solutions for the most pressing challenges associated with these reactor types. This proceedings publication provides a summary of the panel discussions and parallel technical sessions, as well as the opening and closing speeches. The full papers from the oral sessions and e-papers as presented at the conference are included as supplementary files available on-line.

This publication provides a comprehensive overview of the topics discussed at the conference. Over 600 experts, engineers, scientists, government officials and advocates were involved in the event, reaffirming the importance and interest in fast reactor technology. There are currently several fast reactors already in operation, with more under construction and innovative concepts under development. Major technical aspects and topics related to fast reactor and fuel cycle technology were addressed at the conference, including advancements in technology, safety, economics, proliferation resistance, and sustainability.

The URAM-2023 Proceedings cover a range of relevant topics in the uranium production cycle from uranium exploration, through mining, milling, processing, and decommissioning and remediation of uranium production cycle facilities. This publication provides a summary of the symposium including: the opening addresses; the essay contest for students and early career professionals; 10 tracks from the technical sessions; 2 panel sessions; the closing addresses; conference secretariat and programme committee, and a list of the papers and posters. The intended audience includes exploration and mining geologists, engineers, operators, regulators, fuel cycle specialists, government officials, researchers and students.

This proceedings publication comprises key outcomes and proposed recommendations from the conference held to discuss the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned in the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Important information was shared at the conference on current priority needs, strategies and approaches to support the safe, secure, and cost-effective implementation of decommissioning programmes. In addition, this publication features the President’s and Vice-President’s reports, with insights drawn from speaker presentations, panel discussions, side events and Q&A sessions with contributions from participants.

The Second International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power 2023: Atoms4NetZero provided a forum for Member States, representatives from low-carbon energy sectors, international organizations, and other stakeholders to exchange information on the role of nuclear power in the global energy transition towards net zero emissions, consistent with the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century. Topics included: positioning nuclear power within the global clean energy transition, creating an enabling environment for nuclear power, unlocking the full potential of nuclear energy, and mainstreaming nuclear power as a sustainable, low-carbon energy source. This publication complements the official conference proceedings by documenting high-level statements, summaries of panels, side events and the special session on Nuclear Power to Support a Just Transition in the Global South. This publication also presents the conclusions of the conference, including the summary presented by the conference president.

This publication provides a summary of the International Conference on Effective Nuclear and Radiation Safety Regulatory Systems - Preparing for the Future in a Rapidly Changing Environment, including the opening and closing remarks, and summaries of all technical sessions and panels and summaries of side events. The conference served as a forum for identifying strategies to ensure regulatory resilience in a rapidly changing environment and to overcome life cycle challenges of nuclear installations and of activities involving radiation sources. It also focused on strengthening international cooperation and information sharing to improve regulatory effectiveness, agility and consistency in regulatory approaches related to new technologies. The major themes of the conference covered methodologies to increase public and stakeholder trust and regulatory credibility, best practices to sustain a competent workforce and develop the next generation of regulatory professionals and leaders, and programmes and strategies for the safe and secure use of radioactive material. This publication is intended for government ministers; senior officials and policymakers responsible for nuclear and radiation safety regulation; representatives of international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with relevant competencies; regulatory bodies and other national competent authorities; and industry and other entities engaged in activities relevant to nuclear and radiation safety.

The IAEA hosted the International Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Power Reactors in Vienna from 10–14 June 2024, under the theme “Meeting the Moment.” The event emphasized, among other aspects, the vital role of the younger generation of professionals in sustaining the implementation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management programmes, as it is a major intergenerational undertaking. The conference served as a platform for sharing national SNF management strategies and exploring how spent fuel management supports nuclear energy’s evolving role in a changing energy mix. The scope of the conference covered all stages of the management of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors past, present and future, including SMR/AMR technologies, and how decisions taken in the rest of the nuclear fuel cycle could affect its management. This publication provides a summary of the discussions held during technical sessions, plenary panel discussions (two on national strategies, one on stakeholder engagement and one on innovation and integration), summaries of the presented papers, as well as opening and closing remarks. All presented papers are available in the supplementary files on the IAEA publication website.

With more than 2000 registered participants from 142 Member States and 16 invited organizations, the International Conference on Nuclear Security: Shaping the Future (ICONS 2024) provided a global forum for ministers, policymakers, senior officials and nuclear security experts to discuss the future of nuclear security worldwide, whilst providing opportunities for exchanging information, sharing best practices and fostering international cooperation. This publication includes the co-presidents’ summary of the conference, statements from the opening and closing sessions, full texts of the co-presidents’ joint statement and the Nuclear Security Delegation for the Future statement, a listing of all abstracts, and the finalist photographs from the Nuclear Security Through the Lens photography competition. The supplementary files include the full conference programme and the list of conference participants.

This publication presents the conference’s main findings, key messages, and proposed way forward, reflecting participants’ shared commitment to advancing safety and sustainability in radioactive waste management, decommissioning, environmental protection, and remediation. The Conference Chair and Co Chair Report summarizes insights drawn from presentations, panel discussions, rapporteur reports, and the dedicated session on future directions. The proceedings also capture the outcomes of the special IAEA–ICRP joint session on safety and sustainability, which explored how to balance competing factors when optimizing protection and how to effectively engage interested parties in this process.

The International Conference on Research Reactors, held every four years, is one of the IAEA activities supporting countries in addressing the opportunities and challenges related to research reactor programmes. This publication presents a summary and other material from the 2019 conference. The main challenges the research reactor community is facing include the need to ensure regulatory effectiveness, manage the ageing of the facilities, ensure knowledge transfer, and improve utilization programmes and strategic planning. This conference provided a forum for reactor operators, managers, users, regulators, designers and suppliers to exchange best practices and learn from each other, particularly in addressing common issues, challenges and strategies. This resulted in a publication which provides a summary of the conference, the major findings and conclusions of the sessions, and the opening and closing addresses. The accompanying online files include the individual technical papers and presentations.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the lAEA and wider international community, sought to assist the Japanese authorities manage the response. Within the context of continuous improvement and work to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities globally, the nuclear community gathered for this conference to review and assess lessons learned and actions taken, as well as to identify ways to further strengthen nuclear safety. This publication contains the President's Report and a summary of the technical sessions and policy discussions that took place during the conference. Conclusions of the conference are also summarised.