Governing board launches initiative for ‘worldwide performance improvement’ Ingemar Engkvist: ‘We are not drivers of expanding the nuclear industry, but we are there to help.’ The World Association of Nuclear Operators is moving to an operating model that it says will address specific gaps to excellence as the nuclear power sector looks to push ahead with new projects and become an important tool in addressing climate change.

The association’s chief executive officer, Ingemar Engkvist, said in an interview with NucNet that changes at the non-profit safety organisation, whose members include nuclear plant owners and operators around the world, arise from a 2019 meeting of the governing board where members decided to launch an initiative for “worldwide performance improvement”.

The reason for the changes is a growing understanding among WANO members that better performance will help shape the future and make nuclear a key element of the global move towards net zero.

Mr Engkvist said the industry wants to “meet business objectives” with regards to maintaining high performance, extending operating lifetimes at some plants and creating a basis for new construction.

“We [WANO] are not drivers of expanding the nuclear industry, but we are there to help,” said Mr Engkvist, who took the London-based job in January 2020 after a period in the association’s Paris office.

“WANO will become much more efficient when gaps to excellence are identified, to help members close them much more quickly than in the past. That’s the aim. We want to have an international view of every station’s performance.”