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Preferred site chosen for NuScale SMR

11 August 2016

A preferred site has been identified for the construction of a small modular reactor (SMR) at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL), near Idaho Falls.


The SMR plant envisioned by NuScale (Image: NuScale)

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) CEO Doug Hunter announced that the organization had identified its preferred site from four possible locations within INL's boundaries. Speaking at the Intermountain Energy Summit, he said the 35 acre (14 hectare) plot lies about six miles (10 km) southeast of the Lost River Rest Stop near the junction of US Highways 20 and 26.

The UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) was formally launched in 2015, bringing together UAMPS, NuScale, Energy NorthWest and Enercon Services in a project to build the first-of-a-kind of NuScale's reactor design. Earlier this year the US Department of Energy granted a permit to UAMPS allowing it to perform site selection and characterization activities within the INL site. Hunter said the preferred site would not interfere with any existing INL facilities or research.
The SMR design for the CFPP is being provided by NuScale Power of Portland, Oregon. Engineered with passive safety features, the 50 MWe NuScale
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Oregon-based NuScale Power would build the small modular reactors that can individually produce 50 megawatts. Additional reactors could be built as power demands grow, with up to 12 reactors producing 600 megawatts.
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The cost for 12 small modular reactors is about $3 billion.

Romania to explore NuScale SMR deployment

19 March 2019

An agreement between US small modular reactor (SMR) developer NuScale Power and Romanian energy company Societata Nationala Nuclearelectrica SA (SNN SA) to explore the use of SMRs in Romania has been welcomed by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding covering the exchange of business and technical information on NuScale's nuclear technology, with the goal of evaluating the development, licensing and construction of a NuScale SMR for a "potential similar long-term solution" in Romania.
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NuScale's SMR technology features the self-contained NuScale Power Module, with a gross capacity of 200 MWt or 60 MWe. Based on pressurised water reactor technology, the scalable design can be used in power plants of up to 12 individual modules. The technology is currently undergoing design certification review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems is planning the development of a 12-module plant at a site at the Idaho National Laboratory, with deployment expected in the mid-2020s. NuScale has also signed MOUs to explore the deployment of its SMR technology in Canada and Jordan.

NuScale SMR enters first manufacturing phase

26 September 2018

NuScale Power has selected BWX Technologies Inc (BWXT) as the first manufacturer of its small modular reactor (SMR). This marks the transition to the manufacturing phase and represents major progress in bringing the technology to market, NuScale said yesterday.


Multiple NuScale SMR modules could make up a plant (Image: NuScale)

Portland, Oregon-based NuScale selected BWXT following an 18-month selection process to determine the best company to refine NuScale's design for manufacturability, assembly and transportability. Virginia-based BWXT will immediately start work on the first manufacturing phase, which will continue until June 2020. BWXT expects to use Pennsylvania-based Precision Custom Components as a component manufacturing contractor on the project.

NuScale said it will contract for the remaining two phases, preparation for fabrication then fabrication, at a later date.

Eighty-three companies from ten countries expressed interest in the selection process. NuScale Power President and CEO John Hopkins said BWXT's established industry experience had been an important factor, as had choosing an American company. "Our technology will bring immense economic prosperity for people here at home, while improving the quality of life for those all across the world by providing resilient, carbon-free electricity," he said.

BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said: "NuScale’s unique SMR design can be factory-made and offers scalable power based on need. We are excited to work with NuScale to help make their groundbreaking design a reality."

NuScale's self-contained SMR design houses the reactor core, pressuriser and steam generator inside a single containment vessel. A single module can generate 50 MWe (gross) of electricity and at just under 25 metres in length, 4.6 metres in diameter and weighing 450 tonnes, incorporates simple, redundant, diverse, and independent safety features. A power plant could include up to 12 modules, to produce as much as 600 MWe (gross).

NuScale's SMR is undergoing design certification review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the first - and so far only - SMR to do so. The NRC completed the first phase of its review in April, and the regulator is scheduled to complete its safety evaluation report in August 2020. NuScale expects the application to be approved by the commission the following month.

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) is planning the development of a 12-module NuScale plant at a site at the Idaho National Laboratory, with deployment expected in the mid-2020s.

South Korea Doosan Will Work With Nuscale to Sell 60MWe Nuclear Modules

By Brian Wang - 2 weeks ago



Nuscale and South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction are going to work together to deploy 60 MWe NuScale Power Module™ (NPM) worldwide.

DHIC has experience with nuclear pressure vessel manufacturing and will help make the small modular reactor. They are expected to build a portion of the most critical and complex NPM sub assemblies for the plant under development for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, which is expected to begin operation in 2026.

NuScale’s technology is the world’s first and only SMR to undergo design certification review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC is scheduled to complete its review of NuScale’s design in September 2020.

NuScale Power is developing compact nuclear reactor module which could be factory mass produced and has component moveable by heavy truck. It will produce electricity and also process heat for a variety of industrial applications, including desalinization for the production of clean water, to improve the quality of life for people around the world. At the heart of NuScale Power’s technology is the NuScale Power Module™ (NPM). The fully-fabricated small modular reactor (SMR) brings together traditional components – the reactor vessel, steam generator, and high-pressure steel containment – into a single, simplified unit.

UAMPS is planning to develop a NuScale 12-module reference plant in Idaho with commercial operation of the first module in 2026. UAMPS has selected a preferred site at the Idaho National Laboratory through a site-use agreement with the DOE.

SOURCES- NuScale

US gives first-ever OK for small commercial nuclear reactor

September 10, 2020 Keith Ridler, Associated Press



U.S. officials have for the first time approved a design for a small commercial nuclear reactor, and a Utah energy cooperative wants to build 12 of them in Idaho.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday approved Portland-based NuScale Power’s application for the small modular reactor that Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems plans to build at a U.S. Department of Energy site in eastern Idaho.

The small reactors can produce about 60 megawatts of energy, or enough to power more than 50,000 homes. The proposed project includes 12 small modular reactors. The first would be built in 2029, with the rest in 2030.

NuScale says the reactors have advanced safety features, including self-cooling and automatic shutdown.

“This is a significant milestone not only for NuScale, but also for the entire U.S. nuclear sector and the other advanced nuclear technologies that will follow,” said NuScale Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins in a statement.

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems already has agreements with the Energy Department to build the reactors at the federal agency’s 890-square-mile (2,300-square-kilometer) site that includes the Idaho National Laboratory, a nuclear research facility that would help with the development of the reactors.

The Department of Energy has spent more than $400 million since 2014 to hasten the development of the small modular reactors, or SMRs.

“DOE is proud to support the licensing and development of NuScale’s Power Module and other SMR technologies that have the potential to bring clean and reliable power to areas never thought possible by nuclear reactors in the U.S., and soon the world,” said Rita Baranwal, assistant secretary for Nuclear Energy.

The energy cooperative has embarked on a plan called the Carbon Free Power Project that aims to supply carbon-free energy to its nearly 50 members, mostly municipalities, in six Western states. The company plans to buy the reactors from NuScale, then assemble them in Idaho. The company is also looking to bring on other utilities that would use the power generated by the reactors.

Cooperative “members themselves would use a portion of the electricity, but other utilities would become involved and purchase power,” said LaVarr Webb, spokesman for the cooperative.

He said not all the power that will be produced from the proposed reactors has been allocated, but he expects more interest with the U.S. approval of NuScale’s design.

He said the next step is for the cooperative to submit a combined construction and operating license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The process also includes an environmental analysis. Webb said the cooperative will likely have that ready within two years.

The first small modular reactor is scheduled to come online in 2029, with 11 more to follow in 2030.

The modular reactors are light-water reactors, which are the vast majority of reactors now operating. But modular reactors are designed to use less water than traditional reactors and have a passive safety system so they shut down without human action should something go wrong.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval of the design means the agency is satisfied such technology will work properly.

The modular reactors are also part of a much larger U.S. plan to replace current reactors, many of them decades old, with more efficient and safer reactors. U.S. officials say nuclear power helps reduce carbon emissions from coal and natural gas, a cause of global warming.

There are currently 95 licensed commercial nuclear reactors operating in the U.S., generating about 20 percent of the nation’s electricity , according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Utah Taxpayers Association has come out against Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems building the reactors, contending costs will soar as they have with some traditional reactors that are much larger.

But the cooperative says such a comparison is unfair, and akin to comparing a 1960s gas guzzler automobile with a modern electric vehicle.

NuScale Power publie une évaluation mise à jour pour une production d’hydrogène de 77 MWe par module

NuScale Power a annoncé des évaluations mises à jour de la faisabilité technique et de l’économie de production d’hydrogène utilisant la chaleur et l’électricité d’un NuScale Power Module™ (NPM), suite à l’annonce récente qu’un NPM peut générer 25 % de puissance supplémentaire par module pour un total de 250 MWt (ou 77 MWe) par module. L’étude sur l’hydrogène a été menée à l’origine en 2014 avec le Laboratoire national de l’Idaho et a été mise à jour avec de nouveaux paramètres de production et économiques.

L’analyse mise à jour a révélé qu’avec une augmentation de 25 % de la sortie de puissance d’un NPM, un module NuScale de 250 MWt est capable de produire 2 053 kg/heure d’hydrogène, soit près de 50 tonnes métriques par jour, une augmentation par rapport à 1 667 kg/heure d’hydrogène, soit 40 tonnes métriques par jour pour un module NuScale de 200 MWt. De plus, en raison de la baisse du coût normalisé de l’électricité résultant d’une production d’énergie accrue, l’hydrogène produit par un système d’électrolyse à vapeur à haute température (HTSE) NuScale devrait être rentable par rapport aux estimations du coût de l’hydrogène renouvelable à facteur de puissance élevé tout en assurant une production contrôlée et continue d’hydrogène.

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Second Korean investment in a week for NuScale SMR
23 July 2021

Samsung C&T Corporation has committed to making an equity investment in NuScale to support deployment of its small modular reactor (SMR) and is developing a business collaboration agreement with NuScale's engineering, construction and procurement partner Fluor Corporation. The announcement comes days after Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction increased its investment to support deployment of NuScale's SMR.

Under its agreements with NuScale and Fluor, Samsung C&T will draw upon its nuclear construction experience in the South Korea and the UAE to serve as a strategic partner to Fluor and other potential project participants. "The company's expertise and investment in NuScale will be invaluable as we seek to bring this revolutionary clean energy technology to market," NuScale Power Chairman and CEO John Hopkins said.

"Samsung C&T is delighted to invest in and explore global carbon-free power opportunities together with NuScale Power and Fluor Corporation, leading companies in the SMR nuclear business," Se Chul Oh, Samsung C&T’s Engineering & Construction Group president and CEO, said. "SMR technology is next-generation with eco-friendly energy and this agreement is a crucial step to Samsung C&T to achieve future substantial growth."

Fluor Group President of Energy Solutions Jim Breuer welcomed Samsung C&T's capabilities, experience and global footprint in the deployment of NuScale's SMR technology. "This investment and partnership with Samsung C&T is aligned with Fluor and NuScale's long-term strategy to create the preeminent SMR value chain and investor syndicate," he said.

The virtual signing ceremony took place two days after Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC), also from South Korea, agreed to make an additional USD60 million investment in NuScale bringing the total investment by the company and its financial backers to more than USD100 million.

The NuScale Power Module is a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single integrated unit. In August 2020 it became the first - and, so far, only - SMR to receive design approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ukraine signs MOU with NuScale to develop small nuclear reactors

September 3, 2021

Small modular reactor designer NuScale Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s nuclear operator to develop SMR plants in that nation.

Energoatom and NuScale agreed to the MOU to explore deployment of the proposed reactor designs which offer smaller footprints and lower costs than conventional nuclear facilities. NuScale has gained approval for its design in the U.S.

Under the MOU, NuScale will support Energoatom’s examination of NuScale’s SMR technology, including a feasibility study for proposed project sites, the development of a project timeline and deliverables, cost studies, technical reviews, licensing and permitting activities, and project specific engineering studies and design work.
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NuScale SMR plants become VOYGR

03 December 2021

NuScale Power's small modular reactor (SMR) power plants are to be named VOYGR, the company has announced. The company is working towards commercialising the technology and aims to be ready to deliver the first VOYGR plant to public power consortium Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems' Carbon Free Power Project by the end of the decade.


"NuScale is on the frontier of innovation in energy and the name VOYGR demonstrates that NuScale is changing the world by creating an energy source that is smarter, cleaner, safer, and cost competitive," the company said.

The flagship VOYGR-12 scalable power plant design can accommodate up to 12 NuScale Power Modules for a total gross output of 924 MWe. NuScale also offers the four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe) and six-module VOYGR-6 (462 MWe).

The NuScale Power Module is a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single unit, generating 77 MWe. In September 2020, it became the first SMR to receive design approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

UAMPS earlier this year said it expects to submit a combined licence application for the Carbon Free Power Project - currently envisaged as a six-module plant - to the NRC in 2024. The plant is to be located on a site at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Idaho National Laboratory.

"We are dedicated to changing the power that changes the world, and the name VOYGR represents our groundbreaking plant technology that is setting a new standard for clean, reliable, and safe power," NuScale Power Chairman and CEO John Hopkins said.

Training centre

NuScale has now opened a third university-based centre to provide training and outreach opportunities through simulated, real-world nuclear power plant operation scenarios. The NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center, opened in collaboration with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, is at the Center for Advanced Small Modular and Micro Reactors located in College Station, Texas, and uses state-of-the-art computer modelling within a simulation of the control room of a 12-unit NuScale power plant control.

Previous E2 Centers were opened at Oregon State University, in November 2020, and at the University of Idaho, in August 2021. The centres are supported by a 2019 DOE grant to broaden the understanding of advanced nuclear technology in a control room setting.

SMR company NuScale pivots from development to delivery

20 June 2022

NuScale Power has announced it is making a strategic shift from product development to product delivery as commercialisation of its VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR) power plants approaches.


How the first VOYGR-6 plant at Idaho National Laboratory might look (Image: UAMPS)

The Portland, Oregon-based company is setting up the VOYGR Services and Delivery business unit which it says will be dedicated to working with customers and tasked with the delivery of services and equipment associated with the sale, development, delivery, and commercial operation of VOYGR power plants.

In May, NuScale Power merged with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp to become the world's first publicly traded company focused on the design and deployment of SMR technology and today said that development, together with the newly announced strategic shift, will "bolster and accelerate" commercialisation of its technology.

Customer-centric restructuring is also a critical step in preparing to scale and meet rapidly growing global demand, the company added. The placement of long-lead equipment orders for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems' (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project - a six-unit VOYGR plant which is to be built at a site at Idaho National Laboratory - plus "landmark 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 for customer projects," it said.

President and CEO John Hopkins said positioning NuScale towards product delivery is a "natural and exciting" next step for the company. Thomas Mundy, currently NuScale's chief commercial officer, is to become president of the new business unit.

The NuScale Power Module, a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single 77 MWe unit, is the first SMR design to receive approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A 12-module VOYGR-12 power plant is capable of generating 924 MWe; the company also offers four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe) and six-module VOYGR-6 (462 MWe) power plants, as well as other configurations based on customer needs.

La Commission américaine de réglementation nucléaire homologue le premier réacteur modulaire

L’entreprise américaine NuScale va pouvoir concevoir et commercialiser son petit réacteur nucléaire modulaire (SMR) du même nom aux Etats-Unis, après que la Commission de réglementation nucléaire a homologué son design pour utilisation. Un premier site de production pourrait voir le jour d’ici à la fin de la décennie.

Antoine Vermeersch 02 Août 2022

C’est une première. Aux Etats-Unis, le premier petit réacteur nucléaire modulaire SMR va être officiellement homologué par le régulateur fédéral. Selon un communiqué diffusé le 29 juillet, «la Commission de réglementation nucléaire (NRC) des États-Unis a demandé au personnel de publier une règle finale qui certifie la conception du petit réacteur modulaire de NuScale pour une utilisation aux États-Unis».

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NuScale and Prodigy conceptual design for marine-based SMR plant
27 October 2022

Canada's Prodigy Clean Energy and America's NuScale have been collaborating since a 2018 Memorandum of Understanding with the "goal of bringing a competitive North American SMR marine facility to market".

The two companies have now announced the conceptual design for the transportable and sea-based small modular reactor (SMR) which "can generate safe, affordable, and reliable electricity at grid-scale at any coastal location worldwide" with the design to be used "for engagement with utilities, regulators and shipyard manufacturers".
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According to industry reports the builders of the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) project recently submitted revised cost estimates to their muni and co-op partners. Initial cost estimates were for power to be produced at about $58/MWh. This figure was recently revised upwards to roughly $90-$100/Mwh, a projected price increase of 60-70%. The causes cited by management for these price increases were twofold: inflation (in material costs, i.e. steel) and higher interest rates.

This initial NuScale project located at the federal government’s Idaho National Laboratories in Idaho Falls would consist of six 77 MW reactors with the units slated to enter commercial service in 2029-2030.
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Modular nuclear player NuScale gets US regulatory approval
Small modular reactors could power data centers

January 25, 2023 By Peter Judge

US nuclear player NuScale Power has received regulatory approval for a small modular reactor (SMR) that could be used to power data centers in future.

The NuScale Voygr design is the first SMR to gain final approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for deployment in the US. SMRs, which are also under development at companies including the UK's Rolls-Royce, have been proposed as a potential source of low-carbon energy for data centers which could effectively allow facilities to operate independently from the local grid.

From February 21, utilities will be able to refer to the NRC ruling, and apply to build and operate 50MW Voygr reactor modules Up to 12 such modules can be grouped into one power source. The company originally applied for approval in 2018, and has since applied to increase the capacity of each module to 77MW, with the latest stage of that application taking place this month.

The Voygr reactor is cooled passively by gravity and convection, and has been developed with help from the US Department of Energy (DOE), which has put more than $600 million into NuScale and other SMR projects since 2014.

For the US government, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff said: “SMRs are no longer an abstract concept. They are real and they are ready for deployment thanks to the hard work of NuScale, the university community, our national labs, industry partners, and the NRC. This is innovation at its finest and we are just getting started here in the US!”

CEO John Hopkins said NuScale was "thrilled to announce the historic rulemaking from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for NuScale’s small modular reactor design, and we thank the Department of Energy (DOE) for their support throughout this process”.

NuScale and the DOE are working with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) on a six-module Voygr demonstration at the Idaho National Laboratory. The first module is due to be running by 2029 with full plant operation the following year. According to NuScale's latest announcement, that project will use the new 77MW modules.

With US approval under its belt, NuScale is also looking to deploy its reactors abroad, claiming 19 signed agreements to deploy SMR plants in 12 different countries, including Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Jordan. A contract for the Romanian project was signed in January 2023.