GE Hitachi to lead development project for advanced BWRX-300 SMR

• 6 years ago (2018-07-17)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Nuclear 659

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GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has been selected by the US Department of Energy to lead a team of industry experts for an advanced nuclear technology development project. The team on the project also includes: Exelon Generation, Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy (HGNE), Bechtel, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It will examine ways to simplify the reactor design, reduce plant construction costs, and lower operations and maintenance costs for the GEH BWRX-300, a 300 MW small modular reactor.

The project will receive more than $1.9 million in DOE funding, part of an investment programme into advanced nuclear technology of nearly $20 million announced by DOE.

Jon Ball, Executive Vice President of Nuclear Plant Projects for GEH, said: “We are excited to announce our continued industry collaboration to develop the BWRX-300, a potentially game-changing technology. We have assembled a strong team of experts in nuclear plant design, construction methods, and plant operations, with the goal of developing a clean energy solution that is cost-competitive with combined cycle gas generation and renewables.”

GEH said that dramatic design simplification could mean that the BWRX-300 would require up to 60 per cent less capital cost per MW when compared to other water-cooled SMRs or existing large nuclear designs.

Masahito Yoshimura, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development & Management Division for HGNE, said: “The BWRX-300 is the ultimate simplification of the boiling water reactor which already had the intrinsic advantage of the direct steam cycle.”