An innovative initiative aimed at accelerating the design and deployment of our SMR in Europe.
On June 2, 2022, EDF, NUWARD and ASNR (formerly ASN) announced the launch of the Joint Early Review (JER): an innovative initiative consisting of a joint pre‑assessment of the NUWARD SMR carried out by three European nuclear safety authorities: ASN (France), SUJB (Czech Republic) and STUK (Finland).
This preliminary review, which is essential for the NUWARD SMR project, aims to best anticipate the expectations of safety authorities in several key European countries for its development. Through the Joint Early Review, NUWARD SMR promotes international collaboration on safety and licensing. Read the press release related to the launch of the JER.
Building on the success of Phases 1 and 2 of the Joint Early Review, NUWARD and the regulators announced in January 2026 the launch of Phase 3.
History of the JER, from 2022 to today
Phase 1 of the Joint Early Review
Between June 2022 and June 2023, a series of technical exchanges took place between EDF, NUWARD, ASN, SUJB, STUK, and their technical support organizations IRSN and SURO. These discussions, conducted upstream and outside any formal licensing process, made it possible to receive early feedback from these regulators, which was beneficial to the design studies.
Phase 2: continuation of exchanges with two new regulators
Building on this successful innovative experience, NUWARD and an expanded group of six European nuclear safety authorities launched the second phase of the Joint Early Review in December 2023. This group, initially composed of the French (ASN), Czech (SUJB), and Finnish (STUK) safety authorities, was joined by the Swedish (SSM), Polish (PAA), and Dutch (ANVS) regulators. Read the press release.
Between December 2023 and July 2025, NUWARD and the six nuclear safety authorities participating in the Joint Early Review examined four key topics critical to the development of the NUWARD SMR. In December 2025, the regulators published their jointly drafted synthesis report, along with NUWARD.
Phase 3 : les échanges continuent, avec 8 régulateurs
On the occasion of its launch kick-off meeting held on 21 January 2026, NUWARD and ASNR announced the official launch of Phase 3 of the Joint Early Review for the NUWARD SMR. This new phase begins with the arrival of two additional European authorities: FANC (Belgium), supported by its technical support organization Bel V, and ISIN (Italy), which joins the initiative as an observer. Throughout 2026, numerous meetings will take place during which the eight European regulators will exchange views on three major key topics. The publication of the conclusions of this Phase 3 is expected in early 2027.
