Hitachi Ltd. and General Electric Co. (GE) of the United States are planning to jointly develop a new type of small nuclear reactor, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
They will be small modular reactors, a next-generation type being developed in the United States and other countries. The two companies aim to start commercial use of the SMRs in the 2030s.
A small modular reactor generates 200,000 to 300,000 kilowatts of power. Most of its core parts are assembled in factories to reduce on-site construction and thus lower costs. SMRs are said to enable a variety of new safety measures, including burying reactors underground.
The development of SMRs could possibly revitalize Japan’s nuclear power business, which has stagnated since the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Subsidiaries of Hitachi and GE will exchange a memorandum on the joint development of SMRs by the end of this year at the earliest.
Hitachi and GE developed a cooperative relationship in the nuclear power business after World War II, and aim to extend their business alliance to the field of SMRs.
Hitachi has been conducting research on downsizing nuclear reactors for many years. To begin the joint project, it will likely take such steps as sharing experimental data necessary for the development of SMRs with GE.
However, even if the project is a success, building a new nuclear power plant or adding equipment to an existing plant is currently difficult in Japan. Hitachi therefore plans to export the new reactor type overseas after manufacturing them in plants in Japan.
Though SMRs have yet to enter commercial use in any country, it is estimated that construction costs can be kept at about 10 percent of the about ¥1 trillion needed to build a conventional reactor.
SMRs can also improve safety at nuclear power plants. For instance, downsized nuclear reactors can be placed underground to prevent the leakage of radioactive substances. Also envisioned is a mechanism to cool reactors even when emergency electricity runs out by storing coolant water above the reactors, among other measures.
Source: The Japan News
