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Investors file lawsuit against NuScale after SMR cancellation


USA Litigation


A group of investors has filed a lawsuit against Portland-based US company NuScale following the cancellation of its Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project. The complaint, filed in a class action on 15 November, alleges that throughout 15 March 2023, and 8 November 2023, NuScale made materially false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the company’s business, operations, and prospects. NuScale Power cancelled a partnership earlier this month with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems that would have seen the first small modular nuclear reactors built in the United States. The project called for six NuScale reactors to be built at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The deal collapsed earlier this month under the weight of rising interest rates and inflation, according to NuScale. The litigants are seeking unspecified monetary damages to recoup their losses, plus interest.


While there are several US companies trying to perfect the technology, NuScale has the only


small modular nuclear reactor design approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The lawsuit claims NuScale withheld from investors that the proposed Idaho project wasn’t financially viable after it failed to attract enough customers. It is claimed that over the course of several investor calls in 2023, NuScale executives told investors that progress acquiring the needed customer base was “looking pretty good” and that “we continue to make progress.” But research published in October by Iceberg Research, a short-selling firm specialising in revealing “substantial earnings


misrepresentation and accounting irregularities,” contradicted that narrative, claiming no new customers had agreed to buy the unit’s output since March.


The same report suggested a second planned NuScale project supplying nuclear power to two Standard Power data centres in Ohio and Pennsylvania stood little chance of success because “Standard Power clearly does not have the means to support contracts of this size”. NuScale claimed the project would consist of 24 reactors producing 1848 MWe. Clayton Scott,


Above: Artist’s rendition of the NuScale SMR. Courtesy of NuScale.


NuScale’s chief commercial officer, apparently told investors in October. “We’re going to start work right away.”


In a written statement, NuScale said the research was a ‘baseless and self-interested attack designed solely to drive down the company’s stock price.’


Diane Hughes, NuScale’s vice president of marketing and communications, called the plaintiffs ‘serial litigants.’ “Repeating false and misleading claims does not make them true,” Hughes said. “The company will vigorously defend itself in the proper forum.”


Violent winter storms cause havoc in Ukraine


Ukraine War zone update Violent wind and snow storms have brought widespread death, destruction and disruption of the vital power supply to areas of east Ukraine and western Russia. Nearly 2500 people were rescued after a snowstorm in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, local governor Oleh Kiper reported, adding that 313 settlements in the region were without power as a result of the bad weather.


At least ten people have died in snowstorms in Ukraine, after icy winds and storms swept the country, cutting power and blocking roads. Almost 1500 towns and villages in the region were left without power after storms dumped up to 10 inches of snow in some places. Odesa region, which lies on the shore of the Black Sea, has been hit by severe snowstorms since 26 November, stranding vehicles and bringing down power lines. Russian coastal


defences have been washed away from beaches on the occupied Crimean Peninsula. As temperatures dropped below freezing, hundreds of thousands of civilians were left without power in Russian-occupied territories, and tens of thousands more lost power across southern Ukraine. Civilians were stranded on roads, complicating the movement of humanitarian aid to communities that have been ravaged by fighting.


Alternative to diesel-power unveiled


Sweden Hydrogen economy Hitachi Energy has unveiled a demonstration unit of its HyFlex ‘Hydrogen Power Generator’ in Gothenburg, Sweden, during an event held with its technology partner, PowerCell Group. This new solution is an integrated and scalable plug-and-play generator for temporary or permanent installation, where power grid connections are impractical, and diesel generators are not an option. The medium- power version provides power for temporary installations and is designed for 400–600 kVA. The high-power version caters for permanent installations and will provide 1 MVA or more per unit. Units can be installed in parallel to


meet specific power needs. HyFlex is completely emission-free, producing only AC power, usable heat, and water. By comparison, a 1 MVA diesel generator running at full load burns roughly


225 kg of diesel and emits 720 kg of CO2 emissions per hour.


Key applications include construction sites in remote locations or noise- and pollution- sensitive cities; mining sites to power the increasing number of electrically powered equipment like dump trucks and excavators; data centres, hospitals, and hotels that require an emergency backup supply of power and/or heat; and shore-to-ship applications at ports to


8 | November/December 2023 | www.modernpowersystems.com


sustainably power ships at berth as an alternative to diesel generators. Hitachi Energy is developing its demonstration unit with Gothenburg-based fuel cell manufacturer PowerCell Group. PowerCell has provided the power modules and technical expertise in fuel cell integration and Hitachi Energy has the balance of plant and expertise in power electronics, batteries, cooling, intelligent control, and systems integration.


Hitachi Energy expects to launch a mobile variant of this eco-friendly generator for temporary deployment in late 2024 and the permanently deployable variant in 2025.


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