GDA
Generic Design Assessment (UK)
The UK's Generic Design Assessment (GDA) is a pre-licensing process by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) evaluating reactor designs for deployment.
GDA involves 4-6 years of technical reviews across 19 steps, leading to design acceptance. AP1000 and UK HPR1000 achieved GDA Step 4 in 2021-2022. Enables site-specific Generic Site Licence later.
Why it matters now
GDA progress in 2025-2026 supports Small Modular Reactor exports to UK/Europe, tying into global data center nuclear supply chains.