- TVA Board Doubles Down on SMR Funding
- US in Talks with Turkey for SMRs and Large Reactors
- UK Plans For Nuclear ‘Super Cluster’ for SMRs and Mico Reactors
- Deep Fission Emerges from Stealth Mode with $4M in Seed Funding
- Aalo Opens New HQ Offices and Manufacturing Plant in Austin, TX
- Westinghouse AP300 Starts UK GDA Process
TVA Board Doubles Down on SMR Funding
The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors (TVA) approved an increase of $150 million in funding for a total of $350 million for the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, TN.
The action this week by TVA approving $150 million in additional advanced nuclear funding will support continued design work and development of potential small modular reactors (SMRs) at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, TN. Previously, the board approved $200 million for SMRs at its February 2022 board meeting.
Jeff Lyash, TVA President and CEO, said, “We believe advanced nuclear technologies will play a critical role in our region and nation’s drive toward a clean energy future. Today’s Board decision demonstrates TVA’s commitment to continue leading in this effort. Small modular reactors are an energy innovation technology that America must dominate – for our energy security, which is really our national security.”
Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute issued a statement applauding TVA’s decision.
She said, “The Nuclear Energy Institute applauds TVA for committing an additional $150 million to the development of small modular reactors through its New Nuclear Program. This significant investment is critical to our industry’s ongoing efforts to construct and deploy advanced nuclear technologies in the U.S. TVA’s continued investment in next-generation nuclear plays a vital role in fostering innovation and driving progress within our industry.”
TVA’s SMR Journey
The funding decision in 2022 for SMRs targeted design and licensing of the GE-Hitachi BWRX300, which is a boiling water design 300 MW SMR. The selection of the BWRX300 follows TVA’s having received an early site permit from the NRC for SMRs. TVA’s plans are to build a first of a kind unit, and, then using lessons learned from it, build three more.
However, TVA won’t be finished with just four SMRs. CEO Lyash told the trade press publication Power Mag, “I want nothing to do with building one reactor, unless I can build 20, and 20 is the low estimate.”
For Lyash taking a fleet approach to building multiple SMRs makes sense because it includes a lot of overlap of supply chains and labor.
TVA is collaborating with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) which is also planning to build BWRX300 SMRs at its Darlingrton site. The Canadian utility has started pre-construction site work for them.
A collaboration agreement also exists between TVA, OPG,and Poland’s Orlen Synthos Green. All three organizations are seeking a standard design which will simplify supply chain procurement and build expertise for deploying the reactors in fleet mode.
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US in Talks with Turkey for SMRs and Large Reactors
Reuters reports that Turkey is holding talks with the United States on the construction of large-scale nuclear power plants and small modular reactors (SMR). The wire service cited comments from the Turkish Energy Ministry.
According to Yusuf Ceyla, a senior Turkish Energy Ministry official, “The USA is showing serious interest in Turkey’s goal of increasing its nuclear energy capacity and building new power plants.”
Asked about the projects under discussion, he said: “We can consider the areas of existing power plants or new power plants. We are negotiating with the USA for both large-scale power plants and small modular reactors. This is a statement of intent.”
Jeff Flake, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, told Reuters last month that Ankara “talked to us and others about (building) small modular reactors. “
Ceylan said negotiations are ongoing with South Korea and Russia for a second nuclear power plant planned to be built in the northern Black Sea region of Sinop, and with China’s SPIC for a third nuclear power plant in northwest Turkey’s Thrace region located on Turkey’s western Black Sea coast north of Istanbul. He added that “negotiations with China on the Thrace project are now at a very serious.”
Last March Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkey’s energy minister, said that the first of four 1200 MW nuclear units at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant should be launched by the end of the year, All four units are scheduled for completion by 2028.
Russian recently has indicated there may be some delays in achieving that milestone due to difficulty getting some items need to build the plants. Rosatom, the Russian export agency building the nuclear reactors in Turkey, blamed sanctions from the US and other countries which limits it access to these components. This turns out to be a true state of affairs according to a 07/08/24 report on the ANS Newswire.
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UK Plans For Nuclear ‘Super Cluster’ for SMRs and Mico Reactors
(NucNet) A UK site that was formerly one of the first the nation’s first civil nuclear power stations has been sold for £6.5m (€7.6M, $8.4M) with the new owners planning to redevelop it as a “super cluster” for nuclear energy research, training and AI.
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) first agreed to sell its 40-acre (16-hectare) science park in Berkeley, southwest England, to Chiltern Vital Berkeley in January 2024. The park was set up in 2016 when SGS bought the redundant Berkeley nuclear power station site for £3M from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a public body responsible for cleaning up the UK’s legacy nuclear sites.
The college put the site up for sale in 2023, reportedly soon after a site visit from Great British Nuclear (GBN), the government body formed to oversee the deployment of new nuclear capacity in the UK.
Berkeley was previously home to two Magnox plants that began operation in 1962 and were shut down in 1988 and 1989. The site was saved from demolition in 2016, with its laboratory turned into a science and technology park by SGS.
The buyer, Chiltern Vital Berkeley, a wholly owned subsidiary of project development company Chiltern Vital Group, said it would seek to transform the site into the UK’s R&D centre of excellence for the next generation of small modular and micro reactor technology.
The announcement follows the acquisition of a nearby site at Oldbury earlier this year by GBN which Chiltern Vital Group said would made its new Berkeley site well positioned to support the UK’s nuclear energy training needs. SGS said the government would soon announce a technology provider to develop SMRs at the site.
Chiltern Vital Group has already said it is supporting Rolls-Royce SMR in the selection of UK sites for the rollout of its SMRs and in the creation of long-term offtake agreements to support the financial viability of their deployment.
Chris Cholerton, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce SMR, said: “Today’s announcement that CVG has completed the purchase of Berkeley Science and Technology Park brings the possibility of new nuclear at Berkeley a step closer. We continue to urge Great British Nuclear to complete their SMR selection process this year, which will unlock the immediate deployment of SMR units and the long-term opportunity at sites like Berkeley.”
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Deep Fission Emerges from Stealth Mode with $4M in Seed Funding
Deep Fission Inc., a nuclear energy company, announced its emergence from stealth mode and a $4 million pre-seed round, led by 8VC. Deep Fission aims to redefine the future of nuclear power with an unprecedented approach: placing reactors a mile underground.
The infusion of capital will accelerate efforts in hiring, regulatory approval, and the commercialization of Deep Fission’s reactor technology.
The company has already met several important milestones, including completing a conceptual design, submitting a regulatory engagement plan, a conceptual design white paper, and a conceptual design review meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Founded in 2023 by father-daughter team Elizabeth and Richard Muller, Deep Fission applies traditional pressurized water reactor design in an unconventional environment. By leveraging the natural conditions deep underground, the startup eliminates the need for large pressure vessels and containment structures, significantly reducing costs while enhancing safety, sustainability, and operational efficiency.
It can do this while using conventional low-enriched uranium fuel and an existing supply chain, sidestepping a significant source of delay and concern for other advanced reactor designs.
“I am thrilled to introduce Deep Fission and present our groundbreaking approach to affordable nuclear power,” said Elizabeth Muller, co-founder and CEO of Deep Fission.
The firm has its home office in Berkeley, CA. It did not disclose in its press statement the location of any candidate underground sites for its reactor nor whether it was in talks with any reactor developer for the project. On its website the firm said it was targeting a power rating of 15 MW which is in the micro reactor range.
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Aalo Opens New HQ Offices and Manufacturing Plant in Austin, TX
Wasting no time after recently scoring a record $27 million in Series A funding, Aalo Atomic announced it is opening a new factory in Austin, TX, to build its SMR using mass production methods similar to those used in automobile plants.
Matt Loszak, the firm’s CEO, said in a press statement, “Right now, many utilities are shying away from building large nuclear plants, because of the uncertainty in cost and schedule. By making reactors in factories, we’ll make the process repeatable, predictable, and decrease costs in the process. By mass-producing the Aalo-1, we’ll drive down costs like Henry Ford and automobile assembly line did for cars.”
The firm’s Aalo-1 is a micro reactor based on the experimental design of the MARVEL reactor developed at the Idaho National Laboratory. It is a a 10 MWe thermal neutron spectrum, sodium-cooled, UZrH-fueled micro-reactor.
According to the firm Aalo’s first reactor will have a power output of 30 MWth (10MWe), and will target an nth-of-a-kind LCOE of 7¢/kWh. Its second product line will be much larger (300 MWth), which is planned to achieve the important 3–5 ¢ / kWh threshold (cheaper than coal). Both reactors will be sodium-cooled, LEU+ UZrH-fueled, and factory-fabricated.
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Westinghouse AP300 Starts UK GDA Process
Westinghouse announced it has received formal approval from the U.K. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to enter the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for its AP300 Small Modular Reactor (SMR). The approval is the first step of two in the technology licensing process to make SMRs a reality in the U.K.
Westinghouse noted that the technical pedigree of the SMR is based on proven Gen III+ AP1000 advanced technology, which has previously received regulatory approval in Great Britain, the U.S. and China, as well as compliance with European Utility Requirements (EUR) standards for nuclear power plants. The firm asserts this legacy brings licensing advantages and will substantially reduce delivery risk for customers in the utility, oil & gas and industrial space.
The GDA application approval comes after the AP300 SMR was selected for as an entry in the current phase of Great British Nuclear SMR competition in October. The design has also been selected by Community Nuclear Power, Ltd. (CNP) to build four AP300 SMRs in Northeast England.
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- Source: https://energycentral.com/c/ec/tva-board-doubles-down-smr-funding