Forging Ahead: Smarter Pathways in Licensing Approaches

Licensing innovation is no longer optional — it’s essential. As the nuclear industry drives toward more efficient and predictable licensing reviews, it must have smarter, more agile pathways and processes to get licenses approved, amended, and issued.

This session dives into the evolving toolkit for modern licensing, spotlighting efforts like the Risk-Informed Process for Evaluation (RIPE), which brings sharper focus and flexibility to NRC reviews by aligning review resources with real safety significance. It will also examine how Section 505 of the ADVANCE Act is prompting a shift toward clearer, more streamlined review processes—resulting in licensing evaluations that are better structured, more complete, and easier to navigate. And in a bold step toward the future, we’ll introduce how artificial intelligence is starting to be used to transform licensing workflows.

Whether you're a licensing engineer, manager, or policy shaper, this session offers a front-row look at how smarter licensing approaches are reducing burden, boosting clarity, and accelerating progress — all while maintaining the highest standards of safety.