IAEA assesses Romania’s SMR site selection process

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has conducted its first ever Site and External Events Design (SEED) mission to look into site selection for a small modular reactor (SMR). The three-day mission to Romania was conducted last month at the request of Nuclearelectrica. Nuclearelectrica and NuScale are cooperating with the US Trade and Development Agency …

Coal plant sites could host 265 GW of advanced nuclear, costing 35% less than greenfield projects: DOE

About 80% of operating and recently retired coal-fired power plant sites could host an advanced nuclear power reactor, with nearly 265 GW in total potential nuclear capacity, according to a Department of Energy report released Tuesday. Using transmission, switchyard facilities and other infrastructure at the coal plant sites could reduce the overnight cost of capital of a nuclear facility by …

Power conversion breakthrough could increase plant efficiency

Sandia National Laboratories mechanical engineers Logan Rapp (left) and Darryn Fleming pictured with the control system for the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle test loop (Image: Bret Latter) Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratory have successfully tested a new power system based on a closed-loop Brayton cycle to deliver electricity to …

South Korea Working on Nuclear Energy-based Hydrogen Production

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Aug. 31 that the South Korean government is working on various hydrogen production techniques, including production from nuclear power-based electricity. Han made the comment during a congratulatory speech at the H2 Mobility Energy Environment Technology (MEET) 2022, which opened at the KINTEX Convention Center. The development of the technique is …

Construction of second Arctic floating nuclear power plant started

Keel laying ceremony for the first of Russia’s new generation floating nuclear power plants took place at China’s Wison Heavy Industries Co yard in Nantong on August 30. Photo: Rosatom Three years after “Akademik Lomonosov” started to produce electricity for the remote Siberian community of Pevek, the first of four in a new generation of …

Fermi Energia to evaluate NuScale SMR for Estonia

A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two companies will see NuScale Power support Fermi Energia in evaluating the deployment of a NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) plant in Estonia by 2031. Fermi’s plans for SMR deployment are growing in popularity in Estonia, according to the company’s latest survey.\ NuScale’s technology was one of …

Collaboration for Rolls-Royce SMR deployment in the Netherlands

Share Rolls-Royce SMR has signed an exclusive agreement with Dutch nuclear energy development company ULC-Energy BV to collaborate on the deployment of Rolls-Royce small modular reactor (SMR) power plants in the Netherlands. ULC-Energy – established in 2021 and based in Amsterdam – aims to accelerate decarbonisation in the Netherlands by developing nuclear energy projects that …

X-energy completes design step for next-gen nuclear reactor

X-energy said it completed the basic design of its high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, a milestone development announced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear office. Maryland-based X-energy has received funding from DOE to further develop its Xe-100 advanced reactor design and TRISO-X particle fuel. The six-year project resulted in X-energy completing the Xe-100’s basic design and fabricating its first …

Buoyed by the Incentives for Clean Energy Storage and Generation in the Inflation Reduction Act, Holtec Ramps Up SMR-160 and Green Boiler Programs

Holtec’s SMR-160, 160 MW Electric Nuclear Reactor We hail the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes landmark provisions to support deployment of nuclear power and other clean energy technologies. This Act will turbocharge the rise of nuclear energy in the U.S., including Holtec’s SMR-160 small modular reactor power plants, which are engineered to …

$60/MWh for advanced nuclear electricity is achievable, says GE Hitachi executive

Small modular nuclear reactors can be developed with a levelized cost of electricity of about $60/MWh, Jon Ball, executive vice president of market development at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, said Friday on a panel hosted by the U.S. Energy Association. The company is developing the 300-MW BWRX-300 small modular reactor. A recent poll by the Nuclear Energy Institute predicted …