MAKING SMRs COMMERCIAL | REACTOR DESIGN
and consortia, reflecting the transformative power – and considerable profit potential – of a full commercial-scale design. Reaching this point, however, will be difficult without a series of changes. These changes include a revision to the regulatory landscape but also closer collaboration with manufacturers that have existing knowledge of nuclear engineering and critical service in general.
Getting to grips with standardisation SMRs are significant because they’re based on proven science. They also tie in with the idea that the vast majority of technologies required to achieve net zero emissions already exist, albeit in varying degrees of maturity. Maturity is arguably the most obvious problem with
today’s SMR market. There are currently over 80 designs at varying stages of completion, using different coolants and reactor types. This level of activity is undeniably positive, though it also hints at a lack of standardisation that will be essential for making SMRs financially viable. An attractive business model is important for SMRs and the nuclear industry more generally – especially as the ‘all-in’ cost of renewable energy continues to fall. While interest is currently high, it’s not unreasonable to imagine investors moving away from SMRs if they begin to fall foul of the same delays and budget overruns seen at large reactor sites such as Vogtle in the USA, Flamanville 3 in France, and Hinkley Point in the UK. But standardisation is not just an issue for those in
charge of the balance sheet. It also cuts to the very reason why SMRs were proposed in the first place: convenience and reach. Modular reactors allow nuclear power to reach areas that are unfavourable for traditional multiple-hundreds of MW plants. There’s even potential for them to offer ad-hoc
power for relatively short periods, deployed as part of an emergency response or in support of regional economic development. These opportunities are impractical, if not impossible, without a safe and reliable design that benefits from economies of scale. While not standardised in the strictest sense, there
are signs of real progress. GE Hitachi, for example, has made inroads with its BWRX-300, a 300 MW water-cooled reactor design based on its ESBWR design, the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor. The ESBWR is already licensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, using the same equipment and fuel used in other GE Hitachi reactors currently in service across the world. Several engineering changes have taken place, including the reduction of safety relief valves and an increase in the design pressure. If approved, GE Hitachi’s SMR could be grid-connected sometime before the end of the decade. This would be ahead of most estimated timelines for SMRs being developed by established players, which typically lie somewhere in the mid-2030s. It’s Rolls Royce, however, that offers the best example
of why it’s important to keep commercial realities in sight during SMR development. The company is currently engaged in a partly UK government-funded programme to develop 470 MWe pressurised water units. The initial £500m (US$634m) of programme funding is due to run out before the end of 2024, which has caused Rolls Royce’s CEO to publicly request the drafting of a government deployment plan before the end of 2023. These SMRs are projected to cost around £1.8bn (US$2.3bn) – a huge saving when compared to the £9bn (US$11.4bn) that could be needed for one unit of Sizewell C. Whether that cost is achievable remains unclear until its Generic Design Assessment is completed.
Above: A framework for accepting factory-assembled parts would create a global production network based on a set of agreed manufacturing principles
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