US certifies first SMR design

• 1 year, 9 months ago (2023-01-24)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Nuclear 659

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The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified the design of NuScale Power ’s small modular reactor (SMR). This is the first SMR design certified by the NRC.

The rule takes effect on 21 February, 2023.

The NuScale Power design is an advanced light-water SMR with each power module having a capacity of 50 MW. NuScale’s VOYGR SMR power plant can house up to 12 power modules that are about a third of the size of a large-scale reactor.

John Hopkins, President and CEO of NuScale Power, said: “We are thrilled to announce the historic rulemaking from the NRC for NuScale’s small modular reactor design, and we thank the Department of Energy (DOE) for their support throughout this process. The DOE has been an invaluable partner with a shared common goal – to establish an innovative and reliable carbon-free source of energy here in the US. We look forward to continuing our partnership and working with the DOE to bring the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project to completion.”

NuScale is currently seeking an uprate to enable each module to generate up to 77 MW. The NRC is expected to review the application this year.