The Netherlands’ Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS) has received a licence application from the Pallas Reactor Preparation Foundation for a new research reactor to replace the aging high-flux research reactor (HFR) at Petten, in the province of Noord Holland.

ANVS said the application is being processed and a draft permit could be issued in about four months. At that point, a six-week public consultation on the report will begin.

ANVS said the new reactor will need permits related to the Nuclear Energy Act and the Water Act, and an environmental impact statement (EIA). ANVS said Pallas has completed the EIA, a document which details all the potential environmental consequences of the new research reactor, including its impact on air and soil quality. The EIA is also part of the permit application.