NHSI · Regulatory Track · Phase II
Regulatory Cooperation
Toolkit
In the Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI) Phase I (2022–2024), one of the Regulatory Track (RT) Working Groups, led by the Small Modular Reactor Regulators' Forum (SMR RF), developed a six-step process for regulatory bodies seeking to leverage assessments already performed by other regulatory bodies. This process is described in IAEA TECDOC-2098, Collaborative Reviews and Effective Leveraging
.
Building on this foundation and continuing the partnership with the SMR RF, NHSI Phase II (2025–2026) included the development of a Regulatory Cooperation Toolkit (RCT). The RCT is a suite of tools, i.e. guidance documents, templates, tables and questionnaires, designed to facilitate practical use of the TECDOC-2098 processes and to advance international regulatory cooperation for small modular reactor (SMR) technologies.
Toolkit I
01
Approaches for Addressing Areas of Regulatory Difference
This Toolkit identifies and categorizes differences in regulatory expectations applied to the same reactor design across regulatory frameworks. It captures good practices to bridge such differences — minimizing design changes and licensing complexity as a reactor design is assessed in different countries. This approach supports all forms of regulatory cooperation, including collaborative reviews, joint reviews, and leveraging of already completed assessments (see IAEA-TECDOC-2105, IAEA-TECDOC-2118, IAEA-TECDOC-2098).
Toolkit II
02
Resources for Leveraging Regulatory Reviews
This Toolkit provides practical resources built around the established six-step leveraging process — including guidance documents, templates, and questionnaires — to support Recipient Regulators in making effective use of information provided by Source Regulators, reducing duplication across national licensing reviews.
Vienna · AT
1 / 3
2 December 2025
RCT Working Group meeting in Vienna, Austria
Online
11 September 2025
RCT Working Group online discussion
Vienna · AT
8 April 2025
NHSI Regulatory Track Meeting
"
The global deployment of SMRs will need a degree of regulatory convergence. We're not aiming at unison, as it's impossible, but without some degrees of concrete collaboration where we can leverage what others are doing, the business model of modularity and flexibility is simply not going to work.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director General — NHSI 3rd Plenary, Vienna, October 2024
About the Regulatory Track
NHSI Regulatory Track
Launched in 2022, NHSI is an IAEA-led multilateral initiative dedicated to advancing the harmonization of regulatory approaches — enabling countries to safely deploy advanced nuclear reactors by collaborating rather than duplicating efforts.
The NHSI Regulatory Track supports the establishment of a global framework for regulatory reviews of advanced reactors with particular attention to SMRs. The framework will enable increased cooperation of regulatory bodies during assessments of advanced reactors, including SMRs, and during leveraging of regulatory reviews and resources. This framework could be used as the basis for future regulatory harmonization in the licensing of new nuclear technologies.
Phase I of the Regulatory Track (2022–2024) established the foundational framework for regulatory cooperation, while Phase II (2025–2026) focuses on implementation.
2022
Year NHSI was launched by the IAEA
2
Toolkits in the Regulatory Cooperation Toolkit
25 +
Countries engaged in Phase II activities
3
Regulatory Track working groups in Phase I
