Construction of first SRZ-1200 could begin once site is chosen
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has almost finished designing its next-generation large-scale nuclear reactor, paving the way for possible construction once a site is chosen, company president Seiji Izumisawa told Bloomberg
The Tokyo-based company can start building the facility once a site for it is established in Japan and some late-stage tests are completed, Izumisawa said. It will take about 10 years to construct and start operations.
“Once a site is decided, things will move forward,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
The hope is that a selection will be made “not too far in the future” so that knowledge and experience surrounding reactor construction can be passed to the next generation of engineers, he said.
According to MHI, the SRZ-1200 is based on improved Japanese regulatory safety standards which incorporate lessons learned from the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident.
MHI has also said it want to study the possibility of using plant for clean hydrogen production.
The SRZ-1200 has been designed in collaboration with utilities Hokkaido Electric Power Company, Kansai Electric Power Company, Kyushu Electric Power Company and Shikoku Electric Power Company, which all have experience in operating PWR plants.
