Latest news with #BWRX300
Trade Arabia
27-05-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Enec, GE Vernova Hitachi in deal for SMR deployment evaluation
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC) and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) have signed an MoU on the sidelines of the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to jointly evaluate the deployment of the BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology internationally. The agreement enables Enec and GE Vernova Hitachi to further co-operate following the signing of the MoU in 2023 on the sidelines of COP 28 to evaluate the technology as part of Enec's Advance programme for advanced nuclear technology. Nuclear energy is a crucial solution to meeting the current unprecedented demand for reliable, dispatchable, more sustainable power coming from a broad range of customers, including hyperscalers seeking to power data centers to support growth in the AI and technology sectors, it stated. The MoU was signed by Mohamed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO of Enec and Maví Zingoni, CEO of GE Vernova's Power segment, during a private ceremony at the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Later they exchanged the signed MoUs as part of their commitment to explore opportunities for international deployment by collaborating on a development roadmap to include site identification, licensing pathways, investment and commercialization strategies and supply chain development, said the statement. Following the signing, Al Hammadi said: "As we continue to power the UAE with clean, baseload electricity around the clock, we are glad to move to the next level of co-operation with GE Vernova Hitachi to accelerate the deployment of new advanced nuclear reactor technologies in the UAE and internationally." "This MoU will bring together our complementary expertise to identify a clear roadmap for deployment, which is essential to ensure safe, efficient and quality-led nuclear delivery, as we have experienced here in the UAE. As global power demand continues to grow at pace, we look forward to advancing new solutions to meet this growth in a sustainable manner," he stated. Zingoni said: "Small modular reactors have an essential role to play in an energy secure future and we are pleased to advance our collaboration with ENEC as the UAE seeks to be an early mover for nuclear innovation." "With projects moving forward in Canada and in the United States, collaborating with ENEC further strengthens our ties with the UAE and ability to deliver this technology and achieve a more sustainable energy future," he added. As developer and operator of the four-unit Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi, Enec brings significant expertise following the successful deployment of civil nuclear energy to power the UAE's grid, aligned to the highest standards of international quality and safety. Enec is a member of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Atlanta Center and therefore is aligned on US operating standards and regulatory environment, combined with unique expertise in deployment, financing and integration. GE Vernova's Nuclear Power business, through its global alliance with Hitachi, is a world-leading provider of nuclear fuel bundles, services, and advanced nuclear reactor designs. Technologies include boiling water reactors and small modular reactors, such as the BWRX-300, which is one of the simplest, yet most innovative boiling water reactor designs. Enec said its team along with GE Vernova Hitachi will now work together to evaluate and develop a comprehensive roadmap for deployment of the BWRX-300. This forms part of Enec's Advance Program, which was created to accelerate the evaluation and potential deployment of next generation nuclear technologies.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First SMR in North America To Be Operational in 5 Years
The Ontario government has green-lit Ontario Power Generation to build the first of four Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site. OPG says it will be the first commercial grid-scale SMR in North America, with an in-service target date of 2030, and the first new nuclear build in Ontario in more than three decades. Ontario government support for the CAD$20.9 billion project came after OPG received a Licence to Construct in April from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The first SMR would cost $7.7 billion. All four SMRS are to be located next to the Darlington nuclear power plant east of Toronto and are expected to be running by 2035. The BWRX 300 modular plant was designed by G.E. Hitachi Nuclear Energy. It will have capacity for 300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 300,000 homes. By comparison, Darlington's four conventional nuclear reactors each provide 935 MW. The Doug Ford government says the plants will help meet Ontario's future energy demands, which are expected to rise by 75 percent by rendering of the first Small Modular Reactor being built in Ontario. Source: Ontario Power Generation What are SMRs? Facing stiff emissions reduction requirements, several countries are starting to re-assess nuclear power and are looking at building plants that are not as expensive, risky, or politically unpalatable as conventional nuclear. Generally ,less than 300 MWe, SMRs are cheaper and can be built more quickly than large nuclear reactors, which are typically 1,000 MW and have a large footprint. Interest in small reactors is driven by a desire to reduce capital costs and to provide power away from large grid systems. SMRs are constructed with prefabricated modules and can be transported by truck or by rail — making them ideal for remote locations where a conventional reactor would not be feasible. Another important advantage is they are less likely to overheat, because their small cores produce less heat than those of large reactors. They also have fewer moving parts, including coolant pumps, which reduces the likelihood of failures that could cause an accident. The fuel, steam and generator are all in one vessel. Their small size and lower cost compared to large nuclear reactors makes Small Modular Reactors more versatile, meaning significantly more utilities will be able to use them. In Canada, SMRs are considered ideal for deployment to off-grid, remote locations such as mine sites or the oil sands, as well as communities in northern Canada reliant on diesel-fueled generators for electricity. Small nuclear reactors are also being eyed by industrial producers as carbon-free sources of heat. Other SMRs in the works In addition to OPG, other utilities including Saskatchewan's SaskPower and the Tennessee Valley Authority have expressed interest in building BWRX 300s, as have companies in Poland and Estonia, The Globe and Mail reports. Meanwhile Westinghouse, which built the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in Shippingport, PA, in 2023 announced the launch of a smaller version of its flagship AP1000 nuclear reactor. The unit is, like the BWRX 300, able to generate 300 MW of electricity, versus 1,200 MW for the AP1000. It is expected to be available in 2027, at a cost of USD$1 billion per unit — significantly less than the $6.8B estimated to bring an AP1000 online. Some of the most advanced research on SMR technology is being conducted in New Brunswick. NB Power is currently working with two private-sector partners, ARC Clean Technology and Moltex Energy, to advance Generation IV Plus Grid-sized SMR technology for use in the Maritime province. In 2023, the New Brunswick government signed an agreement with the government of Saskatchewan to further enhance collaboration on the development and deployment of SMRs. The Western Canadian province is considering the same BWRX 300 Small Nuclear Reactor as Ontario. While no SMRs have yet been built in the United States, the Department of Energy has announced up to $5.5B in funding. According to my colleague Felicity Bradstock, an increasing number of tech companies are investing in SMR technology with the hopes of powering their high-energy-demand data centers with clean energy. The sector hopes SMR technology will be available to power several data centers by the 2030s, as their power demand grows in line with the rollout of artificial intelligence and other complex technologies. This has led Google to order seven SMRs, and Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta to follow suit. Bill Gates's Terrapower is one of the US companies currently building SMRs. Terrapower broke ground on its first project in Wyoming last August and is awaiting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expected by the end of 2026. Further afield, France announced USD$1.1 billion to develop an SMR design. In the UK, Rolls-Royce is around 18 months ahead of the competition in developing SMR technology. In the Netherlands, the nuclear startup Thorizon announced a new consortium to develop a molten salt-type SMR. The firm is currently building a 100-MW Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), Thorizon One, which it hopes to get running in a pilot plant by the mid-2030s. It expects the first prototype to be fueled by a mix of long-lived radioactive waste from existing nuclear facilities and thorium. This will transform much of the long-lived waste into short-lived waste. MSRs are powered by a radioactive solution that blends fissionable isotopes with a liquid salt. While they can be powered using uranium, they run optimally on thorium, a cleaner, safer, and more abundant nuclear fuel. The SMR market is expected to grow from $6 billion in 2024 to $7.14 billion in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 3 percent. The Asia Pacific and Americas markets will likely be the main drivers of this growth. By Andrew Topf for More Top Reads From this article on
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Canada could soon have G7's first small modular nuclear reactors. Here's what that means
An artist rendering of the first small modular reactor (SMR) being built in Ontario. (Source: Ontario Power Generation) For the last 15 years, there's been a lot of talk about the possibilities of small modular reactors – mini nuclear plants that could be factory built and power an industrial site or a small city. Now, Ontario is pressing ahead with a plan to build four of them – the first in the western world. 'A lot of governments are watching to see how this goes,' said Brendan Frank with the group Clean Prosperity, a non-profit. Significantly smaller in size and power output compared to a traditional nuclear plant, small modular reactors (SMRs) are based on the same science. Fission is used to generate heat, which is then used to make electricity. 'SMRs are basically shrunken down technology, about a third or quarter in size, but have many of the same principals,' said Frank. Ontario is giving the green light for Ontario Power Generation to spend $7.7 billion to build the first of the reactors and common systems for all four next to the Darlington power plant east of Toronto. The modular plant, called the BWRX 300, was designed by American based G.E. Hitachi Nuclear Energy and will be able to provide 300 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power 300,000 homes. Saskatchewan next? It's hoped the finished plant will show both the feasibility and benefits of SMRs and encourage broader adoption. Their compact size and modular design means they could be suitable for remote locations. 'The Saskatchewan government is considering the same reactor model,' said Frank. 'They're basically hinging their decision on whether to build their first nuclear reactor based on whether or not things go well in Ontario.' Nuclear reactor Canada news Construction site where four SMRs will be built generating enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes. (Source: Ontario Power Generation) Alberta, New Brunswick? Alberta and New Brunswick are also considering SMRs, and Ontario has been helping to try and export the technology to countries like Poland and Estonia. Frank says there's a global commitment to triple existing nuclear capacity by 2050.'Canada can be a huge contributor to global efforts to build out that capacity while generating jobs and growth here at home.' More than 80 Ontario companies will be involved in the construction. The plant is expected to be online by 2030. All four will cost nearly $21 billion and are scheduled to run by 2035. Ontario's government says the plants will help meet energy demands in the future which are expected to rise by 75 per cent by 2050. The province's minister of energy and mines Stephen Lecce says construction will employ 18,000 people and adds the plants should last 65 years. 'This is a bold decision we're making,' said Lecce. Tech is vulnerable to U.S. whims: critic But the project isn't without its critics. Jack Gibbons is with the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. He says an analysis by his group shows solar and wind power would be much cheaper. He also believes going with the reactor design by U.S.-based GE Hitachi is not good for national security. 'These new American reactors will require us to import enriched uranium from the United States,' said Gibbons. 'That enriched uranium could be cut off by President Trump at any moment.'
Globe and Mail
08-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Ontario's Darlington SMR project to cost nearly $21-billion
The Ontario government approved Ontario Power Generation's plan to spend $7.7-billion to construct the first small modular reactor in a G7 country – a price far greater than independent observers deem necessary to spark widespread adoption. On Thursday, the government announced its wholly-owned utility can spend $6.1-billion to build the first BWRX-300 reactor adjacent to OPG's existing Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. In addition, it can spend another $1.6-billion on common infrastructure such as administrative buildings and cooling water tunnels the new reactor will share with three additional BWRX-300s to be built later. Those remaining units are expected to cost substantially less: all told, the 1,200-megawatt plant's estimated cost is $20.9-billion, expressed in 2024 dollars and including interest charges and contingencies. Those costs are far higher than what independent observers argue are necessary for widespread adoption of SMRs. For comparison, a recently-completed 377-megawatt natural gas-fired power station in Saskatchewan cost $825-million. High costs, overruns and delays contributed to the decline of nuclear power in advanced economies such as the U.S., France and Canada, all former leaders in reactor construction. The global reactor fleet's collective generating capacity has been largely flat since the 1990s, around the same time Canada's newest reactor (Darlington Unit 4) was built. Most reactors under construction today are of Chinese and Russian design. Only one reactor is currently under construction in the Western hemisphere, and two in Western Europe, according to Mycle Schneider Consulting. OPG's project, known as the Darlington New Nuclear Project, is being watched closely by utilities around the world. The BWRX-300 is a candidate for proposed projects in the U.S., U.K., Poland, Estonia and elsewhere. Thursday's announcement marks a significant milestone for major capital projects. Proposals and memorandums of understanding for nuclear power plants abound, but very few advance to this stage. Construction was scheduled to wrap up in 2028, but OPG has pushed that back by one year. It attributed the delay to a construction licence the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission granted in April, later than expected; the scheduled months between breaking ground and completion remain unchanged. OPG's costs are several times greater than Wilmington, N.C.-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy originally promised. Early in the BWRX-300's development, GE Hitachi emphasized it was designing to achieve a specific cost: US$700-million per reactor, or US$2.25-million per megawatt, low enough to compete with natural gas. OPG said the government is not funding the project: the utility will pay for it using its own funds, including cash on hand, cash flow from generating stations and debt. Ontarians will pay OPG back over time through their electricity bills. Officials estimated the average cost of power from the four reactors at 14.9 cents per kilowatt hour, contingent on the federal government providing investment tax credits. The IESO said an alternative would be to build between 5,600 and 8,900 megawatts of wind and solar generators supported by batteries. Their capacity would need to be far greater, it reasoned, to account for the intermittent nature of wind and sunlight, and they would also require far more new transmission infrastructure. The IESO estimated the costs for all that at between 13.5 and 18.4 cents per kilowatt hour. Building the BWRX-300, the IESO concluded, is the lower-risk option. Clean Prosperity, a Canadian climate policy think tank, said in a report last year that the final construction cost of the first BWRX-300 will be influential in determining how many other utilities will be interested in building their own. A cost of $3-billion, or $10.16-million per megawatt, would encourage rapid adoption of SMRs – a level some countries have achieved. 'Russia, India, South Korea and Japan have had average construction costs of $3.4-million to $4.6-million per megawatt since 2000,' the report said. 'In contrast, France and the U.S. built reactors for $12.5-million and $17.5-million per megawatt, respectively, over the same time frame.' In a January report, the International Energy Agency said costs must come down; SMRs need to reach US$4.5-million per megawatt by 2040 to enjoy rapid uptake, far less than OPG's estimated costs. OPG said it's confident it will stick to its schedule and budget. The utility pointed to its ongoing $12.8-billion refurbishment of Darlington's existing four reactors, a complex project it said remains on schedule and on-budget and is scheduled to wrap up next year. But if overruns do occur on the Darlington SMR, OPG and its partners (which include GE Hitachi, architect/engineer AtkinsRéalis and constructor Aecon) will share those costs. The utility added that 80 per cent of its spending on the project will go to Ontario companies; just 5 per cent goes to U.S. companies, primarily GE Hitachi for its design and development work. Last fall, the Ford government passed legislation dubbed the Affordable Energy Act, which committed to prioritizing nuclear power to meet future increases in electricity demand. The province plans up to 4,800 megawatts of new nuclear capacity at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, and as much as 10,000 megawatts at Wesleyville, a proposed new OPG station in Port Hope.
