Company also continuing ‘pre-application dialogue’ with US regulator
The UK government has awarded Holtec Britain £30m (€35m, $37m) of funding to complete Steps 1 and 2 of the generic design assessment (GDA) as the first step towards UK deployment of the company’s SMR-300 small modular reactor.
Holtec said it will out the advanced pressurised water reactor unit through the scrutiny of the UK regulators – the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales – while continuing its pre-application dialogue with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other regulators in parallel.
UK minister for nuclear Andrew Bowie said the government is committing public funds to nuclear for the first time in a generation. “Today’s news represents a multi-million investment to develop cutting-edge technology which could transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and cheaper,” he said.
Holtec is also taking part in a competition announced earlier to be chosen for funding for SMR deployment. That competition is being run by Great British Nuclear, a body established to help deliver the government’s commitment to provide a quarter of the UK’s electricity from nuclear energy by 2050, up from around 14% today.
Holtec said it is planning a large expansion in the region should it be successful in the Great British Nuclear competition, with a factory to build the major mechanical SMR components and other new businesses to support deployment.
Other SMR projects include Rolls-Royce SMR proposals to build reactors at Oldbury and Berkeley in the southwest of England and Balfour Beatty’s proposals with Holtec Britain to develop plans for a SMR-160 pressurised light-water reactor in the UK.
The London-based Nuclear Industry Association welcomed the funding for Holtec, saying it shows the UK is committed to its new nuclear programme, “which needs to be rolled out at pace and at scale to ensure we ramp up nuclear so we can deliver clean power for net zero and good, green jobs for our communities”.
Holtec has been developing its SMR-300 unit since 2011. The SMR-300 is a pressurised water reactor producing around 300 MW of electrical power or 1,050 MW of thermal power for process applications.
