SMR COMPETITION | REACTOR DESIGN
application with a view to potentially getting an operational SMR at the site around 2032. Meanwhile, last year Canada’s Ontario Power Generation (OPG) selected the BWRX-300 for single-unit project that was initially anticipated to begin operating as early as 2028.
formal application for a new nuclear facility is scheduled to be carried out between 2025 and 2030, during which time the design is expected to be certified and the supply chain developed. The aim is to achieve first nuclear concrete for its
reference plant in France in 2030, after finalising the conceptual design phase of the project. Construction is expected to take three years.
GE Hitachi GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe SMR generating 870 MWth that is based on a larger BWR that is already licensed and operating. The Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) is a Generation III+ reactor certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2014. The SMR version, the BWRX-300, uses natural circulation and passive cooling isolation condenser systems as well as fully passive safety systems. It’s fuel enrichment, averaging 3.81% and with a 4.95% maximum, puts it firmly in the realms of conventional commercially available fuels and it has a design refueling cycle of 12-24 months as well as a 60-year operational design life. The construction technologies incorporated into the design adopt advanced concrete solutions and innovative techniques that have been proven in the oil and gas, tunneling and power industries. As a result of this approach and using a combination of modular and open-top construction techniques, GE Hitachi suggests the Nth-of- a-kind BWRX-300 can be constructed in as little as 24-36 months while also achieving an approximate 90% volume reduction in plant layout. In addition, reducing the building volume by about 50% per MW it should also account for around half the amount of concrete. As with other SMR designs, the BWRX-300 claims a cost-competitive approach that can be deployed for both electricity generation and industrial applications, including hydrogen production, desalination, and district heating. An advanced reactor, GE Hitachi says the BWRX-300 sets itself apart from other SMR designs with its proven, less complicated attributes and anticipates the design will be deployable globally as early as 2029 thanks to proven know- how and innovative construction techniques. Launched in 2017, the SMR is the 10th evolution of the BWR light water reactor design from GE.
The design has achieved some notable success. This year the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced plans to explore the construction of multiple advanced nuclear reactors including proposals for a BWRX-300 at its Clinch River site, starting with a plant design and an NRC license
Holtec Holtec’s SMR-160+ small modular reactor is a PWR that uses low-enriched uranium fuel. The design, which has been in development since 2010, features a reactor core and nuclear steam supply system components that are located underground, as well as a passive cooling system that would be able to operate indefinitely after shutdown. No active components, such as pumps, are needed to run the reactor, which does not need any on-site or off-site power to shut down or dissipate decay heat. A key part of the SMR-160 roll-out as envisioned by Holtec is to deploy the reactor as a replacement for the boilers found in coal-fired power stations and reusing the majority of the existing assets. The use of multi-stage compressors that are capable of uprating SMR-160’s steam (700 psi @ 595 Deg F) to the elevated pressure and superheat needed to run the turbogenerator of a fossil power plant are a critical part of this plan. Furthermore, the ability of the SMR-160 to deliver steam at any desired pressure also opens new development opportunities, such as using high-pressure steam for industrial applications. Having been shortlisted, the aim is to start construction of the first UK SMR-160 unit as early as 2028 and Holtec intends to deploy 32 SMR-160s in serial production by 2050 across the UK, amounting to 5.1 GW. This year South Korean national financial institutions
K-Sure (Korea Trade Insurance Corporation) and Kexim (Export-Import Bank of Korea) signed agreements with Holtec and Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction to provide financial support for SMR-160 projects around the world.
Left:
GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 reactor vessel
Pressurizer
CRDM Steam generator
Reactor pressure Vessel
Left: The SMR-160 reactor and steam system
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