Power Engineering has reported on several companies on the regulatory and technological path to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs).

Perhaps the closest of these companies is NuScale Power, whose reactor design was approved in January by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The rule took effect February 21, the day company co-founder Dr. José Reyes took the keynote stage at POWERGEN International.

Reyes, who is Chief Technology Officer for NuScale, spoke with Clarion Energy’s Jenn Runyon after addressing attendees to kick off POWERGEN in Orlando.

WATCH INTERVIEW HERE:

The NRC-approved design is an advanced light-water SMR, with each power module capable of generating 50 MWe.

But NuScale has submitted a second approval application to regulators for an updated SMR design, which is based on the VOYGR-6, a six-module configuration powered by an uprated 250 MWt (77 MWe) module.

The company plans to build a demonstration small modular reactor (SMR) power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. The goal is to be fully running by 2030.

Unlike large, conventional reactors, engineers would build SMRs in a factory instead of assemble them on site, theoretically cutting costs and construction time.

“You can actually build the reactor vessel, as well as the containment vessel in a factory,” said Dr. Reyes. “Then you can ship it in three to five pieces to the site, and it’s an installation.”

He says this would reduce construction time from five years to three years.

Support has grown significantly for SMRs and advanced reactors in the last couple years. The Biden Administration believes they are crucial in curbing climate change.

But there are also questions about rising costs and a daunting regulatory process. NuScale recently said the target price for power from its plant is $89/MWh, up from a previous estimate of $58/MWh.

NuScale Power and other partners plan to develop and assess an integrated energy system for hydrogen production using electricity and process heat from NuScale’s VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR).

Other partners include Shell Global Solutions, Idaho National Laboratory, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), Fuel Cell Energy, FPoliSolutions, and GSE Solutions.

A NuScale control room simulator would be modified to evaluate the dynamics of the energy system and would include models for the solid oxide electrolysis system for hydrogen production, in addition to a fuel cell for electricity production.

Research will consider the number of NuScale power modules needed for use in solid oxide fuel cell hydrogen production and the quantity of hydrogen stored for subsequent electricity production.

Local economic factors from the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project will be assessed, such as the impact in the Western Energy Imbalance Market, resource adequacy programs and other local market factors to be defined.

“Hydrogen has been identified as a pathway for global decarbonization and NuScale’s SMR technology complements this goal through low carbon hydrogen production,” said John Hopkins, NuScale Power President and Chief Executive Officer.

Portland-based NuScale’s power module is a small pressurized water reactor, which can generate 77 MW of electricity (MWe). Its six-module VOYGR-6 can generate 462 MWe. The company also offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 (924 MWe) and a four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe).

VOYGR is the official name of NuScale’s SMR, which it plans to deploy for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL).

The CFPP project’s first module is projected to come online in 2029, with all six modules online by 2030. NuScale believes the six-module CFPP will act as a catalyst for subsequent SMR plant deployments across the U.S. and beyond.

Hydrogen is viewed as a way to decarbonize energy systems. In these markets, hydrogen would be used as an end-use product or as a stored energy source to be processed through a solid oxide fuel cell for electricity generation.

NuScale Power and Prodigy Clean Energy have announced a new concept design for a transportable and marine-based small modular reactor (SMR) power generating facility.

Prodigy is a Canadian company specializing in the development of Transportable Nuclear Power Plants (TNPPs). The company has been working with SMR developer NuScale since 2018 to develop an SMR marine facility that can generate reliable, grid-scale electricity at coastal locations.

Prodigy’s SMR Marine Power Station (MPS) is scalable and can accommodate between one and twelve NuScale Power Modules (NPM) for a total maximum output of 924 MWe.

According to Prodigy, the marine facility is transported to the required location, fixed in place within a protected harbor and connected to shoreside transmission and process heat systems.

Nuclear fuel is loaded in the NPMs after which power generation can begin.

At the end of its life, the marine facility would be transported to a marine-accessible center for decommissioning.

“It is our privilege to partner with NuScale to expand global access to clean, baseload energy generation. By packaging the NPM into Prodigy’s marine facility, we will offer countries a near-term solution to address energy security and to decarbonize their economies, including replacing coal-fired plants – many of which are located at the coast,” said Mathias Trojer, Prodigy Clean Energy president and CEO.

“NuScale is extremely proud to continue this partnership with Prodigy, as utilization of a transportable marine facility will enable us to deploy the NuScale Power Module at more locations around the world,” said John Hopkins, NuScale Power President and CEO.

Manufacturing and outfitting of the facility take place in a shipyard. Minimal site preparation is required, according to Prodigy, and standardized design allows for cheaper manufacturing for a wide variety of sites.

Originally published by Pamela Largue on Power Engineering International.

A new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) study found hundreds of coal power plant sites could convert to nuclear, dramatically increasing dispatchable, carbon-free energy as the country strives to meet its net-zero emissions goal by 2050.

According to the Investigating Benefits and Challenges of Converting Retiring Coal Plants into Nuclear Plants report, a coal-to-nuclear transition could increase nuke capacity in the U.S. to more than 350 GW.

Among the report highlights: DOE says the transition could bring benefits to coal communities with additional jobs, economic development and improved environmental conditions.

The study is relevant as companies like NuScale and Bill Gates-backed TerraPower are working to commercialize and deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) at coal sites in the U.S. Proponents say SMRs offer a lower initial capital investment, greater scalability and siting flexibility than larger conventional nuclear reactors.

MORE: Replacing coal is a ‘natural for us’: One-on-one with NuScale’s John Hopkins

A deeper look at the study

DOE study teams evaluated potential coal power plant sites based on a set of ten parameters, including population density, distance from seismic fault lines, flooding potential, and nearby wetlands.

After screening recently retired and active coal plant sites, researchers identified 157 retired and 237 operating coal plant sites as potential candidates for the transition.

The teams found that 80% of those sites, representing over 250 GW of generating capacity, were suitable for hosting advanced nuclear power plants.

But DOE says more investigating is needed for this coal-to-nuclear transition, including into ownership of the plant, an in-depth evaluation of the remaining coal plant infrastructure and a consideration of other factors that could pose siting challenges.

Construction costs and economic impacts

DOE examined economic and environmental impacts based on the evaluation of a composite, four-county region surrounding a coal plant site in the Midwest.

The study weighed hypothetical scenarios involving NuScale and TerraPower reactors.

According to DOE, depending on the technology used, nuclear overnight costs of capital could decrease by 15% to 35% when compared to a greenfield construction project, through the reuse of infrastructure from the coal facility.

In a case study replacing a large 1200 MW coal plant with NuScale’s 924 MWe of nuclear capacity, the study teams found regional economic activity could increase by as much as $275 million and add 650 new, permanent jobs to the region analyzed. Nuclear can have a lower capacity size because it runs at a higher capacity factors than coal power plants.

In general, DOE says the occupations that would see the largest gains from a coal-to-nuclear transition include nuclear engineers, security guards, and nuclear technicians. Nuke plants could also benefit from preserving the existing experienced workforce in communities around retiring coal plants sites.

Click here for a look at DOE’s full report.

America’s existing nuclear fleet currently has a combined capacity of 95 GW and supplies half of the nation’s emissions-free electricity.

NuScale and private asset manager Habboush Group are forming a strategic alliance to advance the deployment of NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear projects.

The alliance includes private investment platform ENTRA1 and aims to provide a “one-stop shop” for the financing, investment, development, management and execution of projects related to NuScale’s SMR.

“We hope that this strategic partnership will increase access to our trailblazing SMR technology and the carbon-free electrical power that the world needs,” said NuScale President and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins.

NuScale is working to commercialize and deploy its SMR as part of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL) by the end of the decade. The plant would deploy six, 77-megawatt modules to generate 462 MW of electricity. The first module would go online in 2029.

Portland-based NuScale’s design uses natural, “passive” processes such as convection and gravity in its operating systems and safety features, and the reactor modules are all submerged in a safety-related pool built below ground level.

NuScale’s power module is a small pressurized water reactor. The company offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 (924 MWe) and a four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe), in addition to a six-module VOYGR-6. VOYGR is the official name of NuScale’s small modular reactor.

In August 2022 the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) moved to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s SMR design for use in the U.S.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has told staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) design for use in the U.S.

NuScale is working to commercialize and deploy its SMR as part of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL) by the end of the decade. The plant would deploy six, 77-megawatt modules to generate 462 MW of electricity. The first module would go online in 2029.

NuScale submitted its application at the end of 2016 to certify the company’s SMR design. The company tweeted the reactor is the “1st and only SMR design” to receive U.S. NRC approval.

The certification’s effective date is 30 days after the NRC publishes the rule in the Federal Register.

Certification of the NuScale SMR is a significant step toward construction and installation of next-gen nuclear power plants nationwide. Nuclear power plants produce carbon-free electricity, but conventional nukes require billions of dollars in costs and sometimes a decade or more to build and commission.

(1/3) In our first 15 years, we've made significant steps in innovating and commercializing our #SMR technology to bring #PowerToTheWorld

✔️1st and only SMR design to receive U.S. N.R.C. approval
✔️1st publicly traded $SMR company
✔️$1.4B cumulative capital invested to date pic.twitter.com/ACDtjGzoXo

— NuScale Power (@NuScale_Power) July 29, 2022

The NRC has previously certified six other designs: the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, System 80+, AP600, AP1000, the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor and the APR1400.

“The combined license application and the NRC’s safety review would address any remaining safety and environmental issues for the proposed nuclear power plant,” said the commission August 1. “The design certification approves the NuScale reactor’s ‘design control document,’ which is incorporated by reference in the final rule.”

Portland-based NuScale’s design uses natural, “passive” processes such as convection and gravity in its operating systems and safety features, and the reactor modules are all submerged in a safety-related pool built below ground level.

NuScale’s power module is a small pressurized water reactor. The company offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 (924 MWe) and a four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe), in addition to a six-module VOYGR-6. VOYGR is the official name of NuScale’s small modular reactor.

The Commission has directed our staff to issue a final rule certifying the NuScale #SmallModularReactor for use in the U.S. https://t.co/nfrlqJndPR

— NRC (@NRCgov) July 29, 2022

In late June NuScale and Romania’s state nuclear power corporation S.N. Nuclearelectrica S.A. (Nuclearelectrica) announced a plan to conduct engineering studies, technical reviews, and licensing and permitting activities at a site in Doicesti, Romania, the preferred location for the deployment of the first NuScale VOYGR power plant. The partners signed an MOU in May 2022.

The 8-month effort, expected to cost $28 million in total and including contributions from Nuclearelectrica and NuScale, will provide Romania with key site-specific data – cost, construction, schedule, and licensing details – necessary for the deployment of the SMR.

The aim of the project is to show the ability of advanced nuclear reactors to replace coal generation, while creating thousands of jobs. NuScale President John Hopkins recently spoke with Power Engineering about how the company’s SMR plants are ideal for coal replacement.

The United States will commit $14 million toward a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the basis of deploying NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) in Romania.

President Biden made the announcement June 26 at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Germany. The funding is part of the administration’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), aimed at narrowing infrastructure gaps around the world, including through clean energy deployments.

NuScale and Romania’s state nuclear power corporation S.N. Nuclearelectrica S.A. (Nuclearelectrica) plan to conduct engineering studies, technical reviews, and licensing and permitting activities at a site in Doicesti, Romania, the preferred location for the deployment of the first NuScale VOYGR power plant. The partners signed an MOU in May 2022.

The 8-month effort, expected to cost $28 million in total and including contributions from Nuclearelectrica and NuScale, will provide Romania with key site-specific data – cost, construction, schedule, and licensing details – necessary for the deployment of a NuScale’s 462 MWe VOYGR-6 SMR nuclear power plant.

The aim of the project is to show the ability of advanced nuclear reactors to replace coal generation, while creating thousands of jobs. NuScale President John Hopkins recently spoke with Power Engineering about how the company’s SMR plants are ideal for coal replacement.

NuScale believes Romania has the potential to accommodate the first SMR deployment in Europe and become a catalyst for SMRs in the overall region.

“Nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, represent a critical tool in the fight against climate change, and can also enhance energy security and boost economic prosperity,” said U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

The PGII initiative is funding projects in four major categories: clean energy, health systems, gender equality and information and communications technology.

The following are excerpts from our conversation with NuScale President and CEO John Hopkins at the Nuclear Energy Assembly (#NEA2022) in Washington, D.C. The conversation has been edited for brevity. To hear the full interview, check out our video above.

NuScale is a Portland, Oregon-based small modular reactor (SMR) company which aims to revitalize nuclear power in the U.S. and beyond. NuScale is working to commercialize and deploy the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL) by the end of the decade. The SMR plant would deploy six, 77-megawatt modules to generate 462 MW of electricity.

Q: Let’s talk a little bit about the Carbon Free Power Project. What’s it going to take to get it commercially operable at this point?

Hopkins: Actually, the project is going very well right now. They’ve done more sitings, they’re spending money there. Originally it was going to be a 12-module pack NuScale plant, but then we went through the power up rate to 77 MW per module. What their needs are for coal refurbishment and displacement is six of these modules.

In fact, I’ve got a big meeting coming up here to meet with some of the constituents on July 13th. So it’s going well, we’ve got a date of 2029. We just ordered some long-lead items, such as forgings from Doosan, which is very important, because if you’re going to make these early dates, you’ve got to start ordering long-lead items right now, which is what we’re doing.

It’s going to be the first project, we believe, in the United States for advanced nuclear small modular reactors. We’ve got the supply chain, we got the site characterization done. So barring some unknown, the project is progressing.

Q: Who do you anticipate some of your customers will be as advanced nuclear gains more notoriety?

Hopkins: What I’ve seen happen in the U.S. is coal refurbishment. There are a lot of coal-fired plants looking to come offline this decade in the 300- to 400-megawatt range. It’s a natural for us, our ability to offer six modules, or four modules at 308 MW.

We’re also working very closely with the North American Building Trades currently, because labor is going to be a key component. I’m a technology provider, I’m not a constructor, not a manufacturer. So that supply chain needs to come from here, and our labor needs to come from here. What we’re working with labor right now is our ability to go into a coal-fired facility and look at training manuals to cross-train people that are currently there, into what we’re doing.

Many of these facilities are in remote locations. And they don’t necessarily want to have to pack up and be forced to move to another job when this is a local community that they either grew up in or currently live in. And the cities or the communities also need that tax revenue. So, I think domestically, for advanced reactors in general, that coal refurbishment fossil fuel replacement is going to be really big.

In the overseas markets, again, our first plant we’re looking at right now is currently in Romania. I just got back from there. I’m going back on July 4th to meet with the Prime Minister and others to talk about, how do we get this thing kickstarted. Our U.S. government is very supportive of it. And we wouldn’t be here without the DOE, Department of State and Commerce. They’ve been very supportive of nuclear in general currently, particularly advanced nuclear.

MORE: SMR company NuScale shifts strategy from development to delivery

Q: I want to get back to coal refurbishment. What kind of things are you hearing from coal communities here in the United States about how they could benefit from NuScale’s reactor?

Hopkins: People, typically on nuclear, they’ll mainly gravitate to safety and waste, spent fuel; I call it unused energy. Ninety-six percent of that fuel, if we had the ability to recycle, we could. So, in [coal communities] that have grown around a coal facility, NOx and SOX, it’s really about jobs. They don’t want to have to pack up and move somewhere for 20 jobs when they could have hopefully, a small modular reactor come in use the existing facilities.

It’s not all existing facilities, but many of them we do site characterizations, you find that there’s a lot of the infrastructure like water intake and T&D that you can use on those facilities. So the communities that I’ve met with are very receptive to us coming.

Q: You said that 10 years ago, there was hardly any appetite for SMRs. Pull out your crystal ball: 10 years from now, what do you anticipate?

Hopkins: Ten years ago, as I commented, I wondered what I was doing even getting in this industry, because at that time it was all about economies of scale. They forgot to realize there is economies of small. Two-thirds of the components in a large gigawatts reactor we don’t need as a small modular reactor.

Now what I’m seeing when you come to conferences such as this and others, it’s that large is now the niche; it’s all about small. And there are a lot of companies vying… it’s molten salt or liquid metals or we’re at advanced light water. But in 10 years, if we get it right, and I just want to get one module underground, up and running and show that I’m commercially viable and meet the schedule, the opportunity is going to open significantly.

Small modular reactor (SMR) company NuScale is shifting from product development to product delivery by establishing a new VOYGR Services and Delivery (VSD) business unit.

VOYGR is the official name of NuScale’s SMR, which it plans to deploy for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL).

The CFPP project’s first module is projected to come online in 2029, with all six modules online by 2030. NuScale believes the six-module CFPP will act as a catalyst for subsequent SMR plant deployments across the U.S. and beyond.

Portland-based NuScale’s power module is a small pressurized water reactor, which can generate 77 MW of electricity (MWe). Its six-module VOYGR-6 can generate 462 MWe. The company also offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 (924 MWe) and a four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe).

MORE: NuScale, Doosan agree to begin SMR production

NuScale’s VSD unit will work with customers and be tasked with delivering services and equipment associated with the sale, development, delivery, and commercial operation of the company’s VOYGR power plants.

Since receiving design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in August 2020, NuScale has since been working toward commercialization, including finalizing the standard plant design and supply chain readiness.

Current CFPP activities include the placement of long-lead equipment orders. NuScale notes customer engagements in Poland and Romania underscore the need for a proactive restructuring to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of NuScale’s contractual obligations.

“Positioning NuScale towards product delivery is a natural and exciting next step for the company,” said NuScale President and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins.

NuScale’s VSD unit will be led by Thomas Mundy, who is currently the company’s chief commercial officer.

NuScale Power and Doosan reached an agreement for Doosan to begin producing materials for NuScale’s small modular reactors (SMRs), with full-scale equipment manufacturing expected by the second half of 2023.

Doosan would produce forging dies for NuScale’s upper reactor pressure vessel. The materials produced will support Portland, Oregon-based NuScale’s first commercial deployment of its VOYGR power plant for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL).

Doosan completed a manufacturability review for NuScale’s power module in January 2021 and is now working on the module components’ prototype development. The Korean company made an initial investment in NuScale in 2019.

The CFPP project’s first module is projected to come online in 2029, with all six modules online by 2030. In March, we reported that Xcel Energy could operate the plant.

And last July, we reported that UAMPS, a cooperative which received close to $1.3 billion in federal funding to pursue the SMR project, would decrease the size of the proposed plant from 12 to six small reactor modules. UAMPS said the move would cut capacity of the plant from about 600 MW to 462 MW.

NuScale touts its reactors as “smarter, cleaner, safer and cost competitive,” adding that the SMRs are well suited for placement at retiring coal plant sites, preserving critical jobs in the energy industry and helping communities decarbonize.

In 2020, NuScale received U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval on its SMR design, the first design approval for a small commercial nuclear reactor. SMRs have a smaller footprint, capacity and anticipated cost than traditional high-capacity nuclear power plants.