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The METHODS AND TOOLS INNOVATIONS FOR SEISMIC RISK ASSESSMENT (METIS) H2020 Project has been officially launched opening a promising research collaboration to improve confidence in nuclear safety by advancing the approach utilised for seismic safety assessments for Nuclear Power Plants.

The major goal of METIS is to propose innovations in tools and methodologies for seismic safety assessment of reactors, and supporting technology transfer from the research community to the industry. It aims to develop common guidelines for seismic safety assessment at the European level, in line with international practice and consensus, and promote good practices across the community. The outcome contributes to facilitate risk-informed decision-making in the European context.

The advanced tools and methodologies developed by METIS will be made available to a wider community thanks to the capitalisation in modern high-performance open source tools as OpenQuake, code_aster/ salome_meca, OpenSees, and SCRAM.

METIS is an EU-funded 4-year project under the Horizon 2020 EURATOM Programme for Research and Innovation having a total budget of €5 million, of which €4 million is funded from the European Commission.

The project will be delivered by an international consortium gathering 13 European partners from France, Germany, Italy, Greece, UK, Ukraine and Slovenia alongside with 3 organisations from US and Japan.

The consortium brings together universities, research organisations and industrials so as to create an ideal ecosystem for research, development, and its dissemination and application by end users.

The consortium had a virtual kick off meeting held over two days 29th-30th September 2020 attended by 78 participants. The first day was the plenary session which outlined all the Work Packages’ (WP) and on the second day, there was a WP coordination session for more detailed discussion.

“We are really excited to start this project, where we aim to improve confidence in nuclear power plants and their competitiveness using advanced seismic safety assessments. In these challenging times, we had a successful collaboration with all the partners to build up METIS and get it funded by H2020 Programme. Our recent kick-off meeting, while held remotely, was a really successful event with high engagement from all partners promising a rich and effective collaboration going forward.”

Electricté de France

EDF R&D UK Centre

Limited Liability Company Energorisk

Fondazione GEM

GeoForschungsZentrum

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire

University School for Advanced Studies Pavia

LGI

National Technical University of Athens

Géodynamique et Structures

State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety

Technical University of Kaiserslautern University of Ljubljana

Geotechnical Research Institute

North Carolina State University

Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

For further information contact: Emma.Luguterah@edfenergy.com or 0208 935 2714

Electricité de France (EDF) was set up in 1946 out of the desire to have a national electrical utility that could help rebuild the country after the Second World War. Since its creation, the company has had the responsibility for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity in France. EDF remains one of the European utilities with a significant R&D activity and effort on innovation. Around 2500 people are presently employed at EDF R&D, amongst which, 70% are researchers and executives. EDF is today one of the leading energy companies, with solid positions in major European countries.

EDF is committed to creating long term, low carbon affordable energy and the safety and sustained performance of nuclear and hydraulic plants is one of the key issues in this regard. EDF participates in the project through its research and development (R&D) unit. EDF R&D has the mission to contribute to increasing performance, efficiency and safety of operating units of EDF Group. Collaborative research projects are a vital component for EDF, creating an invaluable forum for exchange and knowledge-sharing. Through them, innovations are developed, disseminated, and industrialized. EDF R&D is also a major national player in opensource simulation software development and dissemination. In particular, it develops and disseminates code_aster opensource Finite Elements Software www.code-aster.org.

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Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) In addition to the private investment that this money will attract. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.

Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness.

EURATOM aims to pursue nuclear research and training activities with an emphasis on continually improving nuclear safety, security and radiation protection, notably to contribute to the long-term decarbonisation of the energy system in a safe, efficient and secure way.

By contributing to these objectives, the Euratom Programme will reinforce outcomes under the three priorities of Horizon 2020: Excellent science, Industrial leadership and Societal challenges