This workshop is organised by the NEA as part of the ATHENA framework, and aligned to the strategic recommendations of the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI). It is co-ordinated with on-going NEA thermal‑hydraulic joint projects and related CSNI initiatives, including activities on code validation, experimental infrastructures and data preservation.

The purpose of this workshop is to concentrate on organisational structure and implementation, whereas future activities will be dedicated to developing the technical basis.

The workshop aims to:

• Present the strategic context and purpose of the NEA/ATHENA framework
• Review priority thermal‑hydraulic research needs for current and future reactor systems
• Identify synergies with ongoing NEA joint projects and CSNI initiatives
• Engage stakeholders to discuss collaboration opportunities and expectations
• Outline the initial steps and operational approach for implementing the ATHENA framework

The global nuclear sector is entering a period of rapid evolution, marked by renewed deployment ambitions, expanding applications, and increasingly complex safety challenges. At the same time, several long‑standing thermal‑hydraulic research facilities have recently closed, and many others face ageing infrastructure and diminishing financial support. These trends risk weakening the international community’s ability to generate the high‑quality experimental data essential for safety analysis, code validation, and regulatory decision‑making.

In response to this growing gap, the NEA has proposed the Advanced Thermal‑Hydraulic Experiment for Nuclear Analysis and Safety (NEA/ATHENA) framework—an integrated, long‑term approach to sustaining and co-ordinating thermal‑hydraulic experimentation across member countries. ATHENA builds on more than 60 joint safety projects undertaken under the NEA’s auspices and reflects recommendations of the NEA Strategic Roadmap for Nuclear Reactor Safety Research, which identified thermal‑hydraulics as a priority area requiring stronger international co-ordination.

ATHENA brings together laboratories, facility operators, regulators, TSOs, industry and academia to address shared thermal‑hydraulic research needs for current and future reactor systems. Its focus includes key phenomena in WCRs, SMRs and advanced designs, system‑level interactions, and high‑fidelity data for modern analysis tools. The framework also strengthens data preservation and metadata harmonisation and supports training and knowledge transfer to ensure long‑term experimental and analytical capabilities.

Participants are invited to submit contributions on:

• Strategic context and framework setup: exisiting gaps that ATHENA could support, current challenges in thermal‑hydraulic research and considerations for operational and financial arrangements.
• Synergies and integration within NEA activities: Topics related to existing NEA joint projects, co-ordination with CSNI and non‑CSNI committees, optimisation of resources and co-operation with operating agents (OAs).
• Industry perspectives and expectations: Insights on priorities for reactor vendors, utilities and TSOs, opportunities for collaboration and links with SMR‑related initiatives such as EGSMR.
• Implementation pathway and next steps: Proposals supporting consensus‑building for ATHENA’s structure, early activities, governance considerations and elements required for progressing toward full framework implementation.

The workshop will include:

• Session 1 — ATHENA Network: Background, status and perspectives
• Session 2 — Synergies with NEA activities & frameworks
• Session 3 — Industry expectations from NEA thermal hydraulic R&D projects and interest of ATHENA framework
• Session 4 — Panel discussion
• Open Discussion & Action Items to implement ATHENA

Who should attend: Experts involved in decision making, industry, regulators, technical support organisations (TSOs), universities, research institutes and experts involved in safety assessment.

Registration: Free of charge. Participants must register by 21 August 2026

Language: English only (no interpretation provided).

Participation: In-person

Venue: Nuclear Energy Agency (46, quai Alphonse Le Gallo, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France)

Hotels and transportation : https://www.oecd.org/en/about/plan-your-trip.html