The Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano has successfully completed the second edition of the “International Summer School on Early-Deployable Small Modular Reactors”, held at the Lecco campus from 24 to 28 June. Organised under the direction of Prof. Marco Ricotti and Prof. Stefano Lorenzi, in collaboration with ENEN (European Nuclear Education Network), the Summer School provided an important opportunity to learn more about the technical and economic aspects of modular nuclear reactors, one of the nuclear technologies currently being studied by the Ministry of Energy.

This edition was attended by 63 participants from all over the world, including 41 Masters and PhD students in nuclear engineering and 22 professionals from various companies such as Ansaldo Nucleare, Edison and Enel.

The focus was on SMRs (Small Modular Reactors), miniaturised nuclear reactors using light water, the most rapidly implemented technology. AMR (Advanced Modular Reactors) projects were also addressed. Participants had the opportunity to exchange views in a series of seminars with international experts from various backgrounds, such as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Tractebel, SIET, USNC (Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation), SNETP (Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform), CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission), JRC (Joint Research Centre – European Commission), as well as with Polimi lecturers.

A new feature of this second edition were the workshops on the design and costing of an SMR (Small Modular Reactor) safety system. Participants had the opportunity to work in teams and the course ended with the presentation of the project work of each working group.

The Summer School received positive feedback from the participants, confirming the added value of a training experience providing in-depth and practical knowledge in the field of modular nuclear reactors.