After a common expression of willingness to cooperate and legal establishment of V4G4 Centre of Excellence Association, VINCO project represents the next stage of capacity building in nuclear technologies in Central European countries. Participating countries defined already their specializations: helium technology in Czech Republic, design and safety analyses in Slovakia, fuel studies in Hungary and material research in Poland. Having such expertise, the joint development of Gen IV nuclear technologies with the special emphasis on gas-cooled reactors is fully possible. Thus, the main objectives of the regional VINCO project are: (i) development of the principles of cooperation and rules of access to existing and planned infrastructure, (ii) identification of the specific objectives of the R & D activities in the cooperating countries, (iii) description and analysis of the existing research, training and educational equipment and capabilities, (iv) determination of the investment priorities in cooperating countries and (v) setting up of joint research, educational and training projects. It is expected that the joint activities will result in coordination of actions allowing to obtain financing from the Structural Funds available for the Visegrad countries. These funds would allow for a huge increase of mass and modernization of the research potential in the region. Close cooperation with other EU institutions (mainly CEA, France) will ensure better description of the investments needed in Visegrad Region, tightening of pan-European cooperation and strengthening of the role of V4 countries, helping them to evolve from users to the suppliers of R&D capabilities in nuclear technologies. A major expected impact of the project would be setting up of a distributed regional research centre specialized in nuclear technologies needed to develop Gen IV reactors and to improve safe operation of existing and planned Nuclear Power Plants in the region.

The aim of the project is to determine the most affected and threatened components from the point of view of the long-term operation (LTO) and describe the effect of the LTO on the material properties as well as develop a simulation tool able to predict the non-acceptable state of the material. The project is specifically focused on the Water-Water Energetic Reactor (VVER), nevertheless, the approach is to maintain the easy transferability to other light water reactor technologies, as well. The outputs of the project will lead to the increase of operational safety at the extended lifetime due to the in-time prediction of the potential failure. The basic approach of the project is to combine the development of the simulation tools, experimental work (material analyses), in-service and/or non-destructive inspection techniques to develop the effective “early warning” tool for the assessment of the system integrity for the LTO of the current LWR with a specific focus on the VVER technology. The project's aim specifically focuses on the thermal aging and swelling of the loaded constructional materials. One of the most affected components from the LTO´s point of view are the heat exchanging tubes of steam generators (thermal ageing) and reactor internals (swelling). The experimental material was screened and selected with the main criteria: to support and validate the proposed methods in the most accurate way, and to be “on stock” and available at the expected start of the project, the latest. The experiments are planned to be performed at the available material with clear and well-described operational history as well as the material from the original batch in the “as-received” state to gain the most relevant and valuable information with high impact to the community.

The overall aim of the project is to create greater security of energy supply and contribute to the security of supply of nuclear fuel for Russian designed pressurized water reactors (VVER) operating in the EU by diversification of fuel sources in the short / medium term and in full compliance with nuclear safety standards. By that, the project addresses the topic NFRP 16 – 2015. The scientific objectives of the proposed project include increased knowledge concerning the behaviour of the VVER-440 fuel during operation. State-of-the-art methods will be verified against an extensive database, including operating experience from several VVER-440 reactors as well as a number of other reactor designs and a wide range of operating conditions. The ability to accurately predict the fuel behaviour will be improved and thereby also the safety margins. New knowledge as well as identification of needs of technology development and improvements will be created in the fields of technologies for mechanical design, thermo-mechanical fuel rod design, and safety analysis for VVER fuel. In addition to the technological advances, the project will identify the variation in licensing requirements between the authorities in the different countries. Through such identification, it will become clear that standardization would be beneficial and will foster a dialogue between the authorities/regulatory bodies. The new knowledge will be exploited through innovation processes but will also be used for further research and recommendation to policy makers as well as for creating impact among the target groups of the project. Results will be presented to the members of the VVER community, i.e. the utilities, universities and other organizations with close links to the nuclear energy industry. Articles and papers presenting the work and the results of the project will be targeted for nuclear industry, magazines and conferences.