WNN reports that Westinghouse wants to work with the UK on the deployment of small modular reactor (SMR) technology. Westinghouse, part of the Toshiba group, said yesterday it had presented a proposal to partner in phase two of a study being carried out by the UK government into the potential use of SMRs.
Phase one - an SMR feasibility study commissioned by the government and carried out by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) - was published in December last year. There are SMR concepts for a range of applications including electricity production, district heating, desalination and plutonium management.
Westinghouse said that its unsolicited proposal outlines a shared design and development model under which the company would contribute its SMR conceptual design and then partner with UK government and industry to complete, license and deploy it. It added that the collaboration would create a new option for safe, clean-air energy that leverages the innovative technology of the full-scale Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant.
NuScale said it aims to deploy its SMR technology in the UK with the first of its 50 MWe units in operation by the mid-2020s. The company is looking for partners to make this happen. US-based NuScale is developing its technology with a cost-sharing award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) worth $217 million over five years.
Next year the company wants to apply for design certification and it hopes to have its first unit in operation in late 2023, generating power in Idaho for prospective customer the Utah Association of Municipal Power Systems. NuScale plans a construction and operating licence (COL) application late in 2017 or early 2018. The company also expects to apply for a GDA in the UK in a similar timeframe. The NUScale Power Module is a 160 MWt, 50 MWe integral PWR with natural circulation.
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