Small modular reactor
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a class of small
Military specified small reactors were first designed in the 1950s to power
Commercial SMRs can be designed to deliver an
As of 2023, only China and Russia have successfully built operational SMRs. The US Department of Energy had estimated the first SMR in the United States would be completed by NuScale Power around 2030,[8] but this deal has since fallen through after the customers backed out due to rising costs.[9] There are more than 80 modular reactor designs under development in 19 countries.[10] Russia has been operating a floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov, in Russia's Far East (Pevek), since October 2022. The floating plant is the first of its kind in the world. China's pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor HTR-PM was connected to the grid in 2021.[10]
SMRs differ in terms of staffing, safety and deployment time.[11] US government studies to evaluate SMR-associated risks are claimed to have slowed the licensing process.[12][13][14] One main concern with SMRs and their large number, needed to reach an economic profitability, is preventing nuclear proliferation.[15][16]
Background
Hope of enhanced safety and reduced costs
Economic factors of scale mean that nuclear reactors tend to be large, to such an extent that size itself becomes a limiting factor. The 1986
In response, researchers at Oregon State University introduced a new strategy to build smaller reactors, which were expected to be faster to fabricate, safer to operate, and operate at a reduced cost per reactor. Despite the loss of scale advantages and considerably less power output, funding was expected to be easier thanks to the introduction of modular construction and projects with anticipated shorter timescales. The generic SMR proposal is to swap the economies of unit scale for the economies of unit mass production. Partnering with OSU, NuScale Power was the first to apply this manufacturing strategy starting in 2006[17][18]
Proponents claim that SMRs would be less expensive due to the use of standardized modules that could be industrially produced off-site in a dedicated factory.[19] SMRs do, however, also have economic disadvantages.[20] Several studies suggest that the overall costs of SMRs are comparable with those of conventional large reactors. Moreover, extremely limited information about SMR modules transportation has been published.[21] Critics say that modular building will only be cost-effective for a high number of the same SMR type, given the still remaining high costs for each SMR.[22] A high market share is thus needed to obtain sufficient orders.
Contribution to the net zero emissions pathways
In her global pathway to reach
To produce the same electrical power than the ~ 400 large nuclear power reactors presently in operation in the world today, BASE, the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management also estimates that it would be necessary to build several thousands to tens of thousands SMRs.[4][25]
So, several fleets of SMR reactors of exactly the same type, and industrially manufactured in large series through factory production, should be rapidly and massively deployed worldwide to deliver a sufficient power output to significatively contribute to the net zero emissions of CO2. The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has launched at the
In February 2024 European Commission has recognized SMR technology as an important contribution to decarbonization as part of EU Green Deal.[29]
Future challenges
Proponents say that nuclear energy with proven technology can be safer; the nuclear industry contends that smaller size will make SMRs even safer than larger conventional plants. Critics say that many more[4] small nuclear reactors pose a higher risk, requiring more transportation of nuclear fuel and also increasing the production of radioactive waste.[30] SMRs require new designs with new technology, the safety of which has yet to be proven.
Until 2020, no truly modular SMRs had been commissioned for commercial use.
To cope with the 2050 targets of net zero CO2 emissions without wasting time, a rapid and massive deployment of a large number of SMRs (several thousands to tens of thousands of units)[4] is critical and represents an unprecedented challenge for the nuclear industry, the safety authorities, and the civil society (acceptance by the public, the politicians, and the governments in the larger countries), in the short time frame considered.
Designs
SMRs are envisioned in multiple designs. Some are simplified versions of current reactors, others involve entirely new technologies.[35] All proposed SMRs use nuclear fission with designs including thermal-neutron reactors and fast-neutron reactors.
Thermal-neutron reactors
Thermal-neutron reactors rely on a moderator (water, graphite, beryllium...) to slow neutrons and generally use 235
U as fissile material. Most conventional operating reactors are of this type.
Fast reactors
Pu
U.
Fast reactors can be
Pu, which can be removed from the reactor during refueling, and subsequently reprocessed and used as fuel.[36]
Technologies
Coolant
Conventional
Thermal/electrical generation
Some gas-cooled reactor designs could drive a gas turbine, rather than boiling water, such that thermal energy can be used directly. Heat could also be used in hydrogen production and other industrial operations,[38] such as desalination and the production of petroleum derivative (extracting oil from oil sands, making synthetic oil from coal, etc.).[42]
Load following
SMR designs are generally expected to provide base load electrical power; some proposed designs are aimed to adjust their power output based on electricity demand.[citation needed]
Another approach, especially for SMRs designed to provide high temperature heat, is to adopt cogeneration, maintaining consistent heat output, while diverting otherwise unneeded heat to an auxiliary use. District heating, desalination and hydrogen production have been proposed as cogeneration options.[43]
Overnight desalination requires sufficient freshwater storage capacity to deliver water at times other than when it is produced.[44] Reverse osmosis membrane and thermal evaporators are the two main techniques for seawater desalination. The membrane desalination process uses only electricity to power water pumps and is the most employed of the two methods. In the thermal process, the feed water stream is evaporated in different stages with continuous decreases in pressure between the stages. The thermal process directly uses thermal energy and avoids the conversion of thermal power into electricity. Thermal desalination is further divided into two main technologies: the multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) and the Multi-Effect Desalination (MED).[45]
Nuclear safety
A report by the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) considering 136 different historical and current reactors and SMR concepts stated: "Overall, SMRs could potentially achieve safety advantages compared to power plants with a larger power output, as they have a lower radioactive inventory per reactor and aim for a higher safety level especially through simplifications and an increased use of passive systems. In contrast, however, various SMR concepts also favour reduced regulatory requirements, for example, with regard to the required degree of redundancy or diversity in safety systems. Some developers even demand that current requirements be waived, for example in the area of internal accident management or with reduced planning zones, or even a complete waiver of external emergency protection planning. Since the safety of a reactor plant depends on all of these factors, based on the current state of knowledge it is not possible to state, that a higher safety level is achieved by SMR concepts in principle."[46][47][20]
Negative temperature coefficients in the moderators and the fuels keep the fission reactions under control, causing the reaction to slow as temperature increases.[48]
Some SMR designs proposes cooling systems only based on thermoconvection – natural circulation – to eliminate cooling pumps that could break down. Convection can keep removing decay heat after reactor shutdown. However, some SMRs may need an active cooling system to back up the passive system, increasing cost.[49]
Some SMR designs feature an integral design of which the primary reactor core, steam generator and the pressurizer are integrated within the sealed reactor vessel. This integrated design allows for the reduction of a possible accident as contamination leaks could be contained. In comparison to larger reactors having numerous components outside the reactor vessel, this feature increases the safety by decreasing the risks of an uncontained accident. Some SMR designs also envisage to install the reactor and the spent-fuel storage pools underground.[50]
Radioactive waste
The backend of the nuclear fuel cycle of SMR is a complex and challenging issue remaining disputed. The quantity and the radiotoxicity of the radioactive waste produced by SMR mainly depend on their design and the related fuel cycle. As the notion of SMR encompasses a broad spectrum a nuclear reactor types, no simple answer can be easily given to the question. SMR may comprise small
Often, the startup companies developing unconventional SMR prototypes advocate waste reduction as an advantage of the proposed solution and even sometimes claim that their technology could eliminate the need for a deep
Fast breeder reactors "burn"
The traveling wave reactor proposed by TerraPower is aimed to immediately "burn" the fuel that it breeds without requiring its removal from the reactor core and its further reprocessing.[51]
The design of some SMR reactors is based on the thorium fuel cycle, which is considered by their promotors as a way to reduce the long-term waste radiotoxicity compared to the uranium cycle.[52] However, using the thorium cycle also presents big operational challenges because of the production and the use of 232
U and long-lived fertile 233
U, both radioisotopes emitting strong gamma rays. So, the presence of these radionuclides seriously complicates the radiation shielding of the fresh nuclear fuel and the long-term storage and disposal of their spent nuclear fuel.
A study of 2022 made by Krall, Macfarlane and Ewing is more critical and reports that some types of SMR could produce more waste per unit of output power than conventional reactors, in some cases more than 5× the number of spent fuel per kilowatt, and as much as 35× for other waste produced by neutron activation, such as activated steel and graphite.[53][54][55][30]
These authors have identified the neutron leakage as the first issue for SMRs because they have a higher surface area with respect to their core volume. They have calculated that the neutron leakage rates are much higher for SMRs, because in smaller reactor cores, emitted neutrons have fewer chances to interact with the fissile atoms present in the fuel and to produce nuclear fission. Instead, neutrons exit the reactor core without interacting with the nuclear fuel, and they are absorbed outside the core by the materials used for the neutron reflectors and the shielding (thermal and gamma shields), turning them as radioactive waste (activated steel and graphite).
Reactor designs using liquid metal coolants (molten sodium, lead, lead-bismuth eutectic, LBE) also become radioactive and contains activated impurities.
Another issue pinpointed by Krall et al. (2022)[30] related to the higher neutron leakage in SMR is that a lower fraction of their nuclear fuel is consumed, leading to a lower burnup and to more fissile materials left over in their spent fuel, therefore increasing the waste volume. To sustain the nuclear chain reactions in the core of a smaller reactor, an alternative is to use nuclear fuel more enriched in 235
U. This could increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and could require more stringent safeguard measures to prevent it (see also IAEA safeguards).
If higher concentrations of fissile materials subsist in the spent fuel, the critical mass needed to sustain a nuclear chain reaction is also lower. As a direct consequence, the number of spent fuels present in a waste canister will also be lower and a larger number of canisters and overpacks will be necessary to avoid criticality accidents and to guarantee nuclear criticality safety in a deep geological repository. This also contributes to increase the total waste volume and the number of disposal galleries in a geological repository.
Given the potential technical and economical importance of SMRs to supply zero-carbon electrical energy needed to
In an interview with François Diaz-Maurin, the
- "There's definitely a disconnect between the people working on the back end of the fuel cycle—especially with geologic repository development—and those actually designing reactors. And, there is not a lot of motivation for these reactor designers to think about the geologic disposal aspects because the NRC's new reactor design certification application does not have a chapter on geologic disposal..."
The critical study of Krall et al. (2022) has the merit to have raised relevant questions that cannot be ignored by reactor designers, or decision-makers, and to have triggered open and fresh discussions on important outcomes for SMRs and radwaste management in general. Amongst the various types of SMR projects initiated today by many start-up companies, only those correctly addressing these questions and really contributing to minimize the radioactive waste they produce have a chance to be supported by the public and governmental organisations (nuclear safety authorities and radioactive waste management organisations) and their research to be funded by long-term national policies.
The high diversity of SMR reactors and their respective fuel cycles may also require more diverse waste management strategy to recycle, or to safely dispose, their nuclear waste.[53][30] A larger number of spent fuel types will be more difficult to manage than only one type as it is presently the case with light water reactors only.
As previously stressed by Krall and Macfarlane (2018),
A study made by Keto et al. (2022) at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland also addressed the management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW) from a possible future deployment of SMRs in Finland. It also indicates that larger masses (per GWe-year) of SNF and other HLW and larger volumes (per GWe-year) of LLW would be produced by a light water SMR compared to a large NPP.[60]
A report by the
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation, or the use of nuclear materials to create weapons, is a concern for small modular reactors. As SMRs have lower generation capacity and are physically smaller, they are intended to be deployed in many more locations than conventional plants.[61] SMRs are expected to substantially reduce staffing levels. The combination creates physical protection and security concerns.[15][37]
SMRs can be designed to use unconventional fuels allowing for higher burnup and longer fuel cycles.[7] Longer refueling intervals could contribute to decrease the proliferation risks. Once the fuel has been irradiated, the mixture of fission products and fissile materials is highly radioactive and requires special handling, preventing casual theft.
Contrasting to conventional large reactors, SMRs can be adapted to be installed in a sealed underground chamber; therefore, "reducing the vulnerability of the reactor to a terrorist attack or a natural disaster".[50] New SMR designs enhance the proliferation resistance, such as those from the reactor design company Gen4. These models of SMR offer a solution capable of operating sealed underground for the life of the reactor following installation.[50][62]
Some SMR designs are designed for one-time fueling. This improves proliferation resistance by eliminating on-site nuclear fuel handling and means that the fuel can be sealed within the reactor. However, this design requires large amounts of fuel, which could make it a more attractive target. A 200
Furthermore, many SMRs offer the ability to go periods of greater than 10 years without requiring any form of refueling therefore improving the proliferation resistance as compared to conventional large reactors of which entail refueling every 18–24 months.[50]
Light-water reactors designed to run on
SMRs are transported from the factories without fuel, as they are fueled on the ultimate site, except some microreactors.[65] This implies an independent transport of the fuel to the site and therefore increases the risk of nuclear proliferation.
Licensing process
Licensing is an essential process required to guarantee the safety, security and safeguards of a new nuclear installation.[66] Only NuScale Power's VOYGR SMR is fully licensed for use in the United States.[67] However, not all countries follow the NRC or IAEA licensing standards. In the United States and IAEA adhering countries, the licensing is based on a rigorous, independent analysis and reviewing work of all structures, systems and components critical for the nuclear safety under normal and accidental conditions on the whole service life of the installation including the long-term management of radioactive waste.[68] Licensing is based on the examination and scrutiny of the risk assessment studies and safety files elaborated by the fabricant and the exploitant of the SMR in the frame of the safety case they have to submit to the safety authority (regulatory body) when applying for a licence to construct and safely exploit the installation.[69] For NRC and IAEA licensing, the safety and feasibility cases of nuclear installations have to take into account all processes and elements important for the operational safety, its security (access protection), the nuclear safeguard (risk of proliferation), the proper conditioning of radioactive waste under a stable physico-chemical form, and the long-term safety related to the final disposal of the different types of radwaste produced, including all the waste produced during dismantling operations after decommissioning of the installation.[68][70][71] A particularly important point of attention for the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle is to avoid to producing poorly conditioned waste, or waste types without sustainable final destination or susceptible to generating unexpected reprocessing and disposal costs.
The most common licensing process, applied by existing commercial reactors, is for the operation of light water reactors (PWR and BWR). Early designs date back to the 1960s and 1970s during the construction of the nuclear reactor fleet currently in service. Some adaptations of the original licensing process by the US's Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have been repurposed to better correspond to the specific characteristics and needs of the deployment of SMR units.[72] In particular, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission process for licensing has focused mainly on conventional reactors. Design and safety specifications, human and organizational factors (including staffing requirements) have been developed for reactors with electrical output of more than 700 MWe.[73][74]
To ensure adequate guidelines for the nuclear safety, while helping the licensing process, the IAEA has encouraged the creation of a central licensing system for SMRs.[75] A workshop in October 2009 and another in June 2010 considered the topic, followed by an US congressional hearing in May 2010.
The NRC and the
The U.S. Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program was expected to help license and build two prototype SMRs during the 2020s, with up to $4 billion of government funding.[79]
Flexibility
Small nuclear reactors, in comparison to conventional nuclear power plants, offer potential advantages related to the flexibility of their modular construction.[50] It would be possible to incrementally connect additional units to the grid in the event electrical load increases. Additionally, this flexibility in a standardized SMRs design revolving around modularity could allow for a faster production at a decreasing cost following the completion of the first reactor on site.[50][62]
The hypothesised flexibility and modularity of SMR is intended to allow additional power generation capability to be installed at existing power plants. A site could host several SMRs, one going off-line for refueling while the other reactors stay online as it is presently already the case for conventional larger reactors.[50]
When electrical energy is not needed, some SMR designs foresee the direct use of thermal energy, minimizing so the energy loss. This includes "desalination, industrial processes, hydrogen production, shale oil recovery, and district heating", uses for which the present conventional larger reactors are not designed.[50][80]
Economics
A key driver of interest in SMRs is the claimed economies of scale in production, due to volume manufacture in an offsite factory. Some studies instead find the capital cost of SMRs to be equivalent to larger reactors.[82] Substantial capital is needed to construct the factory – ameliorating that cost requires significant volume, estimated to be 40–70 units.[83][84]
Another potential advantage is that a future power station using SMRs can begin with a single module and expand by adding modules as demand grows. This reduces startup costs associated with conventional designs.[85] Some SMRs also have a load-following design such that they could produce less electricity when demand is low.
According to a 2014 study of electricity production in decentralized microgrids, the total cost of using SMRs for electricity generation would be significantly lower compared to the total cost of offshore wind power, solar thermal energy, biomass, and solar photovoltaic electricity generation plants.[86]
Construction costs per SMR reactor were claimed in 2016 to be less than that for a conventional nuclear plant, while exploitation costs might be higher for SMRs due to low scale economics and the higher number of reactors. SMR staff operating costs per unit output can be as much as 190% higher than the fixed operating cost of fewer large reactors.[87] Modular building is a very complex process and there is "extremely limited information about SMR modules transportation", according to a 2019 report.[21]
A production cost calculation done by the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), taking into account economies of scale and learning effects from the nuclear industry, suggests that an average of 3,000 SMR would have to be produced before SMR production would be worthwhile. This is because the construction costs of SMRs are relatively higher than those of large nuclear power plants due to the low electrical output.[88]
In 2017, an Energy Innovation Reform Project (EIRP) study of eight companies looked at reactor designs with capacity between 47.5 MWe and 1,648 MWe.[89] The study reported average capital cost of $3,782/kW, average operating cost total of $21/MWh and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of $60/MWh.
In 2020, Energy Impact Center founder Bret Kugelmass claimed that thousands of SMRs could be built in parallel, "thus reducing costs associated with long borrowing times for prolonged construction schedules and reducing risk premiums currently linked to large projects".[90] GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Executive Vice President Jon Ball agreed, saying the modular elements of SMRs would also help reduce costs associated with extended construction times.[90]
In October 2023, an academic paper published in
The first SMR deployment project in the US was the
List of reactor designs
Numerous reactor designs have been proposed. Notable SMR designs:
Designed or under design | Seeking license | Licensed in one or more countries | Under construction |
Operational | Canceled | Retired |
The stated power refers to the capacity of one reactor unless specified otherwise.
Name | Gross power (MWe) | Type | Producer | Country | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4S | 10–50 | SFR | Toshiba | Japan | Design (Detailed) |
ABV-6 | 6–9 | PWR | OKBM Afrikantov | Russia | Design (Detailed) |
ACP100 Linglong One |
125 | PWR | China National Nuclear Corporation | China | Under construction[97] |
AP300[98] | 300 | PWR |
Westinghouse Electric Company | United States | Design (Detailed) |
ARC-100 |
100 | SFR | ARC Nuclear | Canada | Design (Vendor Review)[99] One unit planned for construction at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, Canada, in December 2019.[100] |
ANGSTREM[101] | 6 | LFR | OKB Gidropress | Russia | Design (Conceptual) |
B&W mPower | 195 | PWR | Babcock & Wilcox | United States | Cancelled |
BANDI-60 | 60 | PWR | KEPCO | South Korea | Design (Detailed)[102] |
BREST-OD-300[103] |
300 | LFR | Atomenergoprom | Russia | Under construction[104] |
BWRX-300[105] | 300 | BWR | GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy | United States/Japan | Design (Pre-licensing communications with the US NRC initiated.[106]) |
CANDU SMR | 300 | PWR (Heavy) | Candu Energy Inc. |
Canada | Design (Conceptual) |
CAP200 | >200 | PWR | SPIC | China | Design (Completion) |
CAREM | 27–30 | PWR | CNEA |
Argentina | Under construction |
Copenhagen Atomics Waste Burner | 50 | MSR |
Copenhagen Atomics | Denmark | Design (Conceptual) |
DHR400 | 400 (non-electric) | PWR | CNCC | China | Design (Basic) |
ELENA[107] | 0.068 | PWR | Kurchatov Institute | Russia | Design (Conceptual) |
Energy Well[108] | 8.4 | MSR |
cs:Centrum výzkumu Řež[109] | Czechia | Design (Conceptual) |
eVinci[110] | 5 | HPR | Westinghouse Electric Company | United States | Design (Pre-licensing communications with the US NRC initiated.[111]) |
Flexblue | 160 | PWR | DCNS group |
France | Design (Conceptual) |
Fuji MSR |
200 | MSR |
International Thorium Molten Salt Forum (ITMSF) | Japan | Design (Conceptual) |
GT-MHR |
285 | GTMHR | OKBM Afrikantov | Russia | Design (Completed) |
G4M | 25 | LFR | Gen4 Energy | United States | Design (Conceptual) |
GT-MHR |
50 | GTMHR | General Atomics, Framatome | United States/France | Design (Conceptual) |
HAPPY200 | 200 MWt | PWR | SPIC | China | Design (Conceptual) |
HTMR-100 | 35 | GTMHR | Stratek Global | South Africa | Design (Conceptual)[97] |
HTR-PM | 210 (2 reactors one turbine) | HTGR
|
China Huaneng | China | Operational (Single reactor. Station connected to the grid in December 2021.)[112] |
IMSR 400 |
195 (x2) | MSR |
Terrestrial Energy[113] | Canada | Design (Detailed) |
IRIS | 335 | PWR | Westinghouse-led | International | Design (Basic) |
KLT-40 S Akademik Lomonosov |
70 | PWR | OKBM Afrikantov | Russia | Operational May 2020[32] (floating plant) |
Last Energy | 20 | PWR | Last Energy | United States | Design (Conceptual)[114] |
MMR | 5-15 | HTGR |
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation | United States/Canada | Seeking licensing[115] |
MCSFR | 50–1000 | MCSFR | Elysium Industries |
United States | Design (Conceptual) |
MHR-100 | 25–87 | HTGR |
OKBM Afrikantov | Russia | Design (Conceptual) |
MHR-T[a] | 205.5 (x4) | HTGR |
OKBM Afrikantov | Russia | Design (Conceptual) |
MRX | 30–100 | PWR | JAERI |
Japan | Design (Conceptual) |
NP-300 | 100–300 | PWR | Areva TA | France | Design (Conceptual) |
NUWARD | 170 | PWR | consortium | France | Design (Conceptual), construction anticipated in 2030.[116][117] Delivered as two units with an integrated primary loop.[118] |
OPEN100 | 100 | PWR | Energy Impact Center | United States | Design (Conceptual)[119] |
PBMR-400 |
165 | HTGR |
Eskom | South Africa | Cancelled - demonstration plant postponed indefinitely[12] |
Rolls-Royce SMR | 470 | PWR | Rolls-Royce | United Kingdom | Seeking UK |
SEALER[122][123] | 55 | LFR | Blykalla | Sweden | Design |
SMART | 100 | PWR | KAERI |
South Korea | Licensed in Korea[124] |
SMR-160 |
160 | PWR | Holtec International | United States | Design (Conceptual) |
SMR-300 |
300 | PWR | Holtec International | United States | Seeking UK licensing[125] |
SVBR-100[126][127] | 100 | LFR | OKB Gidropress | Russia | Design (Detailed) |
SSR -W |
300–1000 | MSR |
Moltex Energy[128] | United Kingdom | Design (Phase 1, vendor design review).[129] One unit approved for construction at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, Canada, in July 2018.[130] |
S-PRISM |
311 | FBR | GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy | United States/Japan | Design (Detailed) |
TEPLATOR | 50 (non-electric) | PWR (heavy water) | UWB Pilsen | Czech Republic | Design (Conceptual) |
TMSR-500 |
500 | MSR |
ThorCon[131] | Indonesia | Design (Conceptual) |
TMSR-LF1 | 10[132] | MSR |
China National Nuclear Corporation | China | Under construction |
U-Battery | 4 | HTGR |
U-Battery consortium[b] | United Kingdom | Cancelled. Design archived.[133] |
VBER-300 | 325 | PWR | OKBM Afrikantov | Russia | Design |
VK-300 | 250 | BWR | Atomstroyexport | Russia | Design (Detailed) |
VOYGR[134] | 50-300 (x6)[135] |
PWR | NuScale Power | United States | Licensed in the USA (Request for NRC review made Jan. 1, 2023 for power output upgrade to 77 MWe and up to 12 modules (924 MWe). Engineering change only.)[136] |
VVER-300 | 300 | BWR | OKB Gidropress | Russia | Design (Conceptual) |
Westinghouse SMR | 225 | PWR | Westinghouse Electric Company | United States | Cancelled. Preliminary design completed.[137] |
Xe-100 |
80 | HTGR |
X-energy[138] | United States | Design (Conceptual) |
Updated as of 2022[update]. Some reactors are not included in IAEA Report.[139][140][96] Not all IAEA reactors are listed there are added yet and some are added (anno 2023) that were not yet listed in the now dated IAEA report. |
- ^ Multi-unit complex based on the GT-MHR reactor design
- Jacobsand Kinectrics
Siting/infrastructure
SMRs are expected to require less land, e.g., the 470 MWe 3-loop Rolls-Royce SMR reactor should take 40,000 m2 (430,000 sq ft), 10% of that needed for a traditional plant.[141] This unit is too large to meet the International Atomic Energy Agency's definition of a SMR being smaller than 300MWe[142] and will require more on-site construction, which calls into question the claimed benefits of SMRs. The firm is targeting a 500-day construction time.[143]
Electricity needs in remote locations are usually small and variable, making them suitable for a smaller plant.[144] The smaller size may also reduce the need to access to a large grid to distribute their output.
Proposed sites
Argentina
In February 2014, the CAREM SMR project started in Argentina with the civil engineering construction of the containment building of a prototype reactor. The CAREM acronym means Central ARgentina de Elementos Modulares. The National Atomic Energy Commission (Spanish: Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, CNEA), the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development and Nucleoeléctrica Argentina , the national nuclear energy company, are cooperating to achieve the realization of the project.[145]
CAREM-25 is a prototype of 25 MWe, the first nuclear power plant completely designed and developed in Argentina.[145] The project was suspended several times before being resumed. In October 2022, CNEA expected that the civil construction works would be finished by 2024. If construction continues according to plan, the first criticality of CAREM-25 is foreseen by the end of 2027.[145]
Canada
In 2018, the Canadian province of New Brunswick announced it would invest $10 million for a demonstration project at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.[146] It was later announced that SMR proponents Advanced Reactor Concepts[147] and Moltex[148] would open offices there.
On 1 December 2019, the Premiers of Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) [149] "committing to collaborate on the development and deployment of innovative, versatile and scalable nuclear reactors, known as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)."[150] They were joined by Alberta in August 2020.[151] With continued support from citizens and government officials have led to the execution of a selected SMR at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratory.[40]
In 2021, Ontario Power Generation announced they plan to build a BWRX-300 SMR at their Darlington site to be completed by 2028. A licence for construction still had to be applied for.[152]
On 11 August 2022, Invest Alberta, the Government of Alberta's crown corporation signed a MoU with
China
In July 2019,
In August 2023, the core module was installed. The core module includes an integrated pressure vessel, steam generator, primary pump receiver. The reactor's planned capacity is 125 MWe.[157]
France
At the beginning of 2023, Électricité de France (EDF) created a new subsidiary to develop and construct a new SMR: Nuward. It is a 340 MWe power plant with two independent light water reactors of 170 MWe. The twin reactors are sheltered in a single containment building and share most of their equipment.[158] In August 2023, EDF submitted a safety case for Nuward to the autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN), the French safety authority.[159]
Poland
Polish chemical company Synthos declared plans to deploy a Hitachi BWRX-300 reactor (300 MW) in Poland by 2030.[160] A feasibility study was completed in December 2020 and the licensing process started with the Polish National Atomic Energy Agency.[161]
In February 2022, NuScale Power and the large mining conglomerate KGHM Polska Miedź announced signing of contract to construct a first operational reactor in Poland by 2029.[162]
Romania
On the occasion of
Russia
Russia has started to deploy on its
United Kingdom
In 2016, it was reported that the
The British government launched Great British Nuclear in July 2023 to administer a competition to create SMRs, and will co-fund any viable project.[172]
United States
Standard Power, a provider of infrastructure as a service to advanced data processing companies, has chosen to work with NuScale Power and ENTRA1 Energy to develop SMR-powered facilities in Pennsylvania and Ohio that will together produce nearly two gigawatts of clean, reliable energy.[173]
NuScale Power is working with Wisconsin's Dairyland Power to evaluate VOYGR SMR power plants for potential deployment. The US leader in SMR technology believes its load-following capabilities can be used to support Dairyland's existing renewables portfolio, as well as facilitate growth. Additionally, VOYGR plants are well-suited for replacing Dairyland's retiring coal plant sites, preserving critical jobs and helping communities transition to a decarbonized energy system.[174]
NuScale Power is working with Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (Associated) in Missouri to evaluate deployment of VOYGR SMR power plants as part of Associated's due diligence to explore reliable, responsible sources of energy.[175]
NuScale had planned to build an SMR project in the US, the
The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) had partnered with Energy Northwest to explore siting a NuScale Power reactor in Idaho, possibly on the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory.[178] The project was cancelled in 2023 due to increased costs.[81]
The Galena Nuclear Power Plant in Galena, Alaska was a proposed micro nuclear reactor installation. It was a potential deployment for the Toshiba 4S reactor.[179] The project was "effectively stalled". Toshiba never began the expensive process for approval that is required by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Although the SMR now under consideration has yet to be NRC licensed, the Tennessee Valley Authority was authorized to receive an Early Site Permit (ESP) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for siting an SMR at its Clinch River site in Tennessee in December 2019.[180] This ESP is valid for 20 years, and addresses site safety, environmental protection and emergency preparedness. This ESP is applicable for any light-water reactor SMR design under development in the United States.[181]
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Further reading
- Daniel T. Ingersoll and Mario D. Carelli, ed. (2021). Handbook of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors. Elsevier – Woodhead Publishing. ISBN 978-0-12-823916-2.
- Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (January 1993). "DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy. DOE-HDBK-1019, DE93012223. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2012.
- Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (May 2001). "Report to Congress on Small Modular Nuclear Reactors" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011.
- Vinoya, Carlo L.; Ubando, Aristotle T.; Culaba, Alvin B.; Chen, Wei-Hsin (3 April 2023). "State-of-the-Art Review of Small Modular Reactors". Energies. 16 (7): 3224. ISSN 1996-1073.
- Lyman, Edwin (September 2013). "Small Isn't Always Beautiful. Safety, Security, and Cost Concerns about Small Modular Reactors" (PDF). ucsusa.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
External links
- "Advanced Reactor Information System (ARIS) IAEA database". ARIS–IAEA. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- "Small Nuclear Power Reactors". World Nuclear Association. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- "Small Modular Reactors: Challenges and Opportunities". Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). 3 July 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- "Small Modular Reactors (SMR)". BASE. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- DOE Office of Nuclear Energy
- American Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- World Nuclear Association
- American Nuclear Society
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- Overview and Status of SMRs Being Developed in the United States Archived 28 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine