Sandia Holistic Advanced Reactor Capabilities Center

Sandia Holistic Advanced Reactor Capabilities Center Scope and Core Nuclear Energy Capabilities

Sandia’s Holistic Advanced Reactor Capabilities Center (SHARCC) brings a broad range of unique technical capabilities to support our national vision and reflects our focus on the overall nuclear energy/facility system rather than a specific reactor design or technology. Sandia focuses on the broader system and all the elements and issues that must be addressed to ensure the safe, secure, resilient, reliable, and economic operation of nuclear reactors and facilities. Our scope covers the front end and back end of the nuclear energy fuel cycle, including safety and risk assessment, physical and cyber security, safeguards, transportation and packaging, accident consequences and emergency response, and long-term disposal of spent fuel and radioactive materials.

The vision of SHARCC is to ensure that nuclear energy can provide safe, secure, resilient, and reliable carbon neutral electricity generation for our nation and the world by enabling deployment and long-term operation of multiple generations of advanced nuclear energy systems.

SHARCC represents the core capabilities and nuclear energy/facility related work of three Sandia programs: Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle, Nuclear Energy Safety Technologies, and Global Engineered Security Systems. Together, these three programs support a broad range of sponsors and their involvement in SHARCC allows for coordinated leadership of a body of work to more effectively meet national needs. In addition to these foundational capabilities, SHARCC Applied Information Sciences, has a unique capability focus in the area of Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI), which will be fundamental in realizing more economic and safer advanced nuclear energy systems.

SHARCC Functions

By coordinating and integrating programs and capabilities across the Lab, SHARCC enables:

• Informed Design:  Sandia offers expertise in Safeguards, Security, and Safety (3S) to design and evaluate advanced systems for nuclear facilities using a holistic 3S informed approach.
• Physical & Cyber Security: Physical and cyber security protects Small Modular Reactor (SMR) systems by securing physical assets and digital controls, ensuring safe reactor deployment.
• Safeguards & Non-Proliferation: Safeguards & Non-proliferation efforts ensure advanced monitoring technologies, risk assessments, and proliferation resistant design strategies for SMR development is in compliance with international agreements.
• Safety: MELCOR’s advanced toolbox enables detailed modeling of severe accident scenarios and enhance safety system designs to ensure regulatory compliance for SMRs.
• Emergency Response: MACCS code simulations assess nuclear accidents, evaluate radiological consequences optimize planning zones, and improve response strategies essential for SMR development.
• Transportation and Storage: Safe, secure and efficient management of SMR nuclear fuel and waste, focusing on advanced packaging and storage solutions to meet regulatory standards.
• Energy Conversion: Brayton Cycle (sCO₂) aims to boost efficiency and reduce the size of nuclear reactors to enhance performance, reliability, and economic viability when integrated with nuclear systems.
• Grid Resilience: Expertise in grid modeling and distributed energy systems focus on optimizing SMR grid integration, improving response to disruptions, and ensuring resilient operation under varying grid conditions.
• Disposal Assessment: Systems engineering and safety assessment experience inform sustainable deep geological disposal solutions for spent nuclear fuel from SMR development.
• Knowledge Management: Ensures critical information and expertise are effectively captured, preserved, and used throughout the lifecycle of SMR development.
• Quality Systems: Quality systems ensure SMR designs meet rigorous controls, regulatory standards, advance risk-informed quality assurance frameworks, and safeguarding the integrity of SMR systems throughout their lifecycle.

View SHARCC publications

Contact

To contact a member of the Nuclear Energy team at Sandia, please email SHARCC@sandia.gov.