pwr_november-2024 - 19

SMALL MODULAR REACTORS
ar industry has never shown a positive
learning curve. Instead, it has repeatedly
shown a negative learning curve where
the cost of new reactors continued to
rise, even as more were built. " The report
continued, " And any positive learning
curve achieved in building SMRs will
depend heavily on how many of each
design are built. The International Atomic
Energy Agency estimates that there are
about 80 SMR designs currently being
proposed and marketed worldwide,
making it highly uncertain how many of
each design will be constructed. Too few,
and there may not be any cost savings
over time, and there may also be no economic
justification for modular construction
in a factory. "
The folks making financial decisions,
though, appear to see the promise of
SMR deployment. Several well-known
energy companies, such as Westinghouse,
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and
Russia's state-owned Rosatom, along
with national laboratories in both the
U.S. and Canada, are heavily involved
in R&D of SMR technology. Allied Market
Research earlier this year released a
forecast that said the SMR market could
grow up to 9% annually, and be worth at
least $13.4 billion by 2032.
Jigar Shah, director of the Loan Programs
Office at the DOE, told POWER
recently that the agency is " very excited
about small modular reactors. " Shah,
whose office makes loans and loan guarantees
available to help deploy a wide
variety of energy and other projects in
the U.S., said SMRs are attractive because
" bite sizes are more affordable for
the utilities, " as opposed to the cost of
a utility-scale nuclear plant. Shah said,
though, his office and the DOE are involved
in supporting large-scale nuclear
projects as well as smaller ones, saying,
" We want to support what it takes
to build these projects, whether it's a
nuclear power plant or producing stable
aviation fuel. "
Shah said SMRs could be a faster and
more cost-effective solution at many
sites, including where transmission infrastructure
already exists-such as at
retired coal-fired power plants.
" We definitely need to look at putting
nuclear power plants at these existing
coal plants, " said Shah. " It's very clear
that we need to [take advantage of existing
infrastructure] in the constraints of
our system. " Shah added, " We're looking
for solutions to how we meet load
growth on the distribution grid. We can
handle 65,000 new megawatts at those
[decommissioned] sites. "
Shah also noted the rise of AI and data
centers, and their impact on power demand,
which has led to tech companies
inking deals with SMR developers to provide
electricity for their energy-intensive
operations. " There's a hunger to find
people who are willing to pay a premium
for 24/7 clean, firm power, " said Shah.
Varied Technologies
Several companies are involved with developing
SMR technology, including established
nuclear power developers such
as Westinghouse. The company calls it
AP300 " the most advanced, proven and
readily deployable SMR solution. "
Westinghouse said the 300-MW
AP300 (Figure 2) " is based on the licensed
and
operating
AP1000 pressurized
light water technology that has
demonstrated industry leading reliability. "
The AP1000 technology is used in
two reactors that came online at Plant
Vogtle in Georgia over the past several
months, representing the first
utilityscale
new-build nuclear power plant in
the U.S. in decades. Westinghouse has
said, " The AP300 SMR is the backbone
of a community clean energy system.
Flexible performance provides a proven
capability to stabilize modern renewable
heavy electric grids, including fast load
2. The Westinghouse AP300 reactor is based on the company's AP1000 pressurized light water
technology. Courtesy: Westinghouse
November 2024 | POWER
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change capabilities to support variations
in demand. Includes additional capability
to support district heating, desalination,
and hydrogen production. "
Westinghouse also is developing the
eVinci microreactor, which the company
said " can produce 5 MWe with a
15-MWth core design. The reactor core
is designed to run for eight or more
full-power years before refueling. " It
has said the eVinci is " fully factory-assembled
and transportable in shipping
containers via rail, barge, and truck.
Above-ground installation requires minimum
ground disruption with less than a
2-acre footprint. "
X-energy is developing its Xe-100 (Figure
3) advanced SMR along with TRISOX
fuel. Each reactor unit is engineered to
provide 80 MW of electricity, according
to X-energy, which said the design " is optimized
in multi-unit plants ranging from
320 MW to 960 MW. The innovative and
simplified modular design is road-shippable
and intended to drive geographic
scalability, accelerate construction timelines,
and create more predictable and
manageable construction costs. "
19
3. This graphic shows the inner workings
of X-energy's Xe-100 small modular reactor
(SMR). Courtesy: X-energy

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