Chubu Electric to buy stake in NuScale Power

• 7 months ago (2023-09-08)
• David Flin

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Japan’s Chubu Electric Power has said it will buy a stake in NuScale Power of the US from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). This move represents a major shift in Japan’s nuclear power policy to invest in SMRs.

Chubu did not disclose the size of the stake or the price, but said that it plans to take “not more than a majority of the JBIC’s holdings.” JBIC and two Japanese companies – JGC Holdings and IHI bought a total of 8.5 per cent in NuScale in 2022, with the JBIC spending about $110 million.

Hiroki Sato, CEO of Chubu’s global business division, said: “As an equity owner, we want to expand our revenue base through investing in NuScale. The SMR is an emission-free power source and it is important to secure all management options that are essential for the future decarbonised electricity sources.”

The acquisition by Chubu is subject to approval by US authorities, which is expected to take about one month.