smr

“Everywhere we look, we’re seeing demand surging,” Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), said. “When we talk about demand for nuclear, we’re talking about the future of our planet, the future that our children will inherit.” Korsnick spoke those lines on May 15 as part of her “State of the […]

Nuclear has re-invented itself as a compelling pathway to achieving net-zero. It is said that everything is cyclical—where there are periods of expansions and contractions. Could this be true of nuclear energy? Can the benefits outweigh the fears and flip the switch from decommissioning to accelerated growth? In the late 1960s, federal nuclear energy programs […]

Westinghouse has officially unveiled the AP300, a “downsized” version of the company’s flagship AP1000 Generation III+ pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology. While the small modular reactor (SMR) will enter a nuclear market already rife with development, the AP300’s “nth-of-a-kind” basis positions it as a strong competitor, the company told POWER. The 300-MWe/900-MWth AP300, launched on May 4, […]

The term “nuclear renaissance” was very popular in the early 2000s. Nuclear power plant operators had substantially improved existing plant performance, and many new plants were being considered around the

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and Synthos Green Energy (SGE) will collaborate to shape a standard design for GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) to speed up the technology’s regulatory acceptance and spur future deployments. The three companies, which have separately begun a regulatory process for potential BWRX-300 […]

Last Energy, a U.S.-based micro modular nuclear technology firm and project developer, has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 34 PWR-20 small modular reactor (SMR) units with four industrial partners in the UK and Poland. The deals, which represent a combined $18.9 in power sales, mark “the largest pipeline of new nuclear power plants under […]

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 design has cleared the first two phases of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) Vendor Design Review (VDR) process, marking a first for a small modular reactor (SMR). The Canadian nuclear regulator’s VDR process is an optional pre-licensing mechanism that allows CNSC staff to give applicants feedback early in the […]

WILMINGTON, North Carolina—March 15, 2023—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today announced that its BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) has achieved a significant pre-licensing milestone in Canada with the completion of phases one and two of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) Vendor Design Review (VDR) process. “The BWRX-300 is the first SMR technology to have […]

The Enel Group and nuclear technology company newcleo signed an agreement under which they will work together on Generation-IV (Gen-IV) nuclear technology projects. Under the deal, Enel will collaborate with newcleo by providing “specialized expertise” through the sharing of “a number of the company’s qualified personnel.” newcleo, for its part, will secure an option for […]

Despite a steep hike in the project cost estimate for the proposed 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP), 26 of 27 public power entities have voted to continue development of the first-of-its-kind six-module NuScale Power VOYGR-6 small modular nuclear (SMR) plant. The 26 project participants—subscribers who could eventually offtake portions of the project’s power—lodged financial commitments […]

Nuclear energy is making a comeback—at home in America and worldwide. The 118th Congress presents new opportunities to make sure America leads the world on this crucial clean energy technology. The drumbeat

Fermi Energia, a privately held company formed to develop a small modular reactor (SMR) in Estonia, announced that it has selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 design for deployment. Kalev Kallemets, CEO of Fermi Energia, said in September last year that the company’s nuclear technology selection process had begun in 2019, with a mapping […]

Nuclear energy—not just nuclear power—is seeing a burst of innovation unlike anything seen since the 1950s. While the strong momentum for the dispatchable zero-carbon energy source is promising, prominent pitfalls threaten necessary progress.

Many experts believe small modular reactors (SMRs), which are generally classified as nuclear power reactors with an electrical output of 300 MW or less, offer great promise for supplying the world with carbon-free energy. Several SMR designs are under development by companies around the world including NuScale Power, GE-Hitachi, Terrestrial Energy, TerraPower, Toshiba, X-energy, and […]

Contracts include important design and future fabrication activities, critical to NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology delivery PORTLAND, Ore. – NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale) announced today it has awarded two new contracts to Framatome to design fuel handling equipment and fuel storage racks for NuScale’s VOYGR™ SMR power plant. This marks a critical supply chain […]

NuScale joins energy buyers, energy suppliers, governments, investors and other organizations in committing to decarbonizing global electricity systems PORTLAND, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR) has joined the United Nations (UN) 24/7 Carbon-free Energy Compact (CEC) to advance the UN’s goal of accelerating the decarbonization of the world’s electricity systems to mitigate climate change and ensure access […]

The Canadian government has pledged more financing toward development of a grid-scale small modular reactor (SMR), as the country continues to support nuclear power as a way to cut emissions of greenhouse gases from its power generation sector. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Oct. 25 said C$970 million ($708 million) is targeted for a […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Czech Republic-based ČEZ are collaborating to advance deployment of nuclear technology, including small modular reactors (SMRs). The companies said they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Oct. 11, with an aim to “reduce financial, technical and schedule risk to both parties on their respective future projects.” OPG is Ontario’s […]

Agreement to explore how NuScale’s innovative technology can benefit Estonia’s carbon-free energy goals PORTLAND, Ore. – NuScale Power (NuScale) announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fermi Energia, an Estonian energy company that is looking to adopt clean energy power sources to meet the country’s ambitious climate goals. Under the […]

A Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) survey suggests U.S. utility members expect to add up to 90 GW of new nuclear generation by the 2050s, including more than 300 new small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. over the next 25 years. The nuclear industry group’s survey, unveiled on July 29, sought to gather input from […]

Holtec International, an equipment provider that specializes in the design and manufacture of parts for nuclear reactors, in May unveiled a “green boiler” technology that is designed to repurpose existing

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has indicated it will certify NuScale’s 50-MWe (160 MWth) small modular reactor (SMR) design, marking another definitive milestone for the reactor vendor and its technology prospects. The NRC on July 29 said it directed staff to issue a final rule that certifies the standard SMR design, for which NuScale submitted […]

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and ARC Clean Energy Canada have agreed to collaborate on a two-year joint project to “deliver a technology demonstration for the fuel fabrication process” customized for ARC Canada’s ARC-100, a 100-MWe/286-MWth, sodium-cooled “advanced small modular reactor” (aSMR), the parties announced on July 26. The development marks a pivotal boost for ARC […]

Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas (2000–2015) and former U.S. Energy Secretary (2017–2019), who has more recently been in the news because of his support for legalizing psychedelic drugs, including

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says momentum is building for nuclear power in many countries amid soaring fuel prices and growing energy security concerns. “In today’s context of the global energy crisis, skyrocketing fossil fuel prices, energy security challenges and ambitious climate commitments, I believe nuclear power has a unique opportunity to stage a comeback,” […]

SaskPower has chosen GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) technology for Saskatchewan’s first two nuclear units, which the provincial utility plans to deploy by the mid-2030s. The announcement on June 27 wraps up a four-year process to evaluate specific SMR designs and furthers planning for SaskPower, a Crown corporation, which has […]

Findings from research led by a team that included a former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairperson and experts from Stanford University suggests small modular reactors (SMRs) will generate more radioactive waste than conventional gigawatt-scale nuclear units. The results were released in a research article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences […]

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety (SUJB), and Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) have picked France’s NUWARD small modular reactor (SMR) design as a test case for an early joint regulatory review for SMRs. The development marks a notable step by European regulators to align practices in a […]

The potential deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan gained a boost with a cooperation agreement between GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) Canadian subsidiary GEH SMR Technologies Canada and the Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Supplier’s Association (SIMSA). GEH SMR Canada on May 26 said a memorandum of understanding […]

An emerging generation of small modular reactors is encouraging suppliers and regulators alike to consider new digital instrumentation and control approaches. While instrumentation and control (I&C)