The UAE's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (Fanr) has officially certified the first group of 15 national senior reactor operators (SROs) and reactor operators (ROs) at Nawah Energy Company, the operations and maintenance subsidiary of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec).

Fifteen Emirati operators were trained in a three-year programme developed by Enec and Nawah. “This is a major milestone for the UAE peaceful nuclear energy programme," noted Fanr director-general Christer Viktorsson. "Investing in building Emirati nuclear expertise is pivotal for the sustainability of the UAE peaceful nuclear energy programme to attain the nation’s ambitious goals.”

Nawah CEO Mark Reddemann noted that the training and education that the operators received is of the highest international standard, and supports the objectives of ensuring a world-class, safety and quality led approach towards operations at Barakah.

The training programmed combined hands-on experience from some of the industry’s leading engineering and nuclear energy experts with a discipline-focused curriculum.

The first group of operators had the opportunity to train in South Korea, the USA, South Africa, and the UAE.  Four Korean-designed APR-1400 units are under construction at Barakah by a consortium led by the Korean Electric Power Company (Kepco).  Construction of Barakah 1 was completed in 2018 and the unit is undergoing commissioning and testing prior to receipt of an operating licence. Overall construction of the four units is now over 93% complete.

Photo: The first group of national reactor operators for the UAE's Barakah nulcear plant (Credit: Nawah)