NuScale Power, a US-based energy company and the first company to receive approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its small modular reactors (SMRs), has partnered with South Korean heavy engineering company Doosan Enerbility to procure the Upper Reactor Cooling System (URCS) for its reactors. The two companies recently signed an agreement to deploy the URCS in NuScale’s commercial reactors.
The demand for clean energy is forcing countries to look back to nuclear energy, which produces on-demand energy without carbon emissions. Taking into account the lessons of the past, when project delays led to cost overruns in plant construction, nuclear power is poised for a comeback in the form of small modular reactors, built in large quantities in a factory and assembled on site.
Founded in 2007, Oregon-based NuScale Power is one of the first U.S. companies working to turn this dream into a commercial reality. The company was the first to receive US NRC approval for its 50 megawatt (MW) design in 2020. More than five years later, it is now building its first commercial-scale plant at a former coal-fired power plant in Romania using six modules of its modernized nuclear reactor.
The NuScale SMR
NuScale’s SMR design is a pressurized water reactor that combines steam generation and heat exchange in the same unit, with each module capable of generating 77 MW of electricity.
The company calls its finished system VOYAGR and can consist of four, six or twelve modules depending on user requirements. A twelve-block plant has a maximum capacity of 924 MW, while the first installation in Romania will have six blocks, for a total capacity of 462 MW.
The company calls its finished system VOYAGR and can consist of four, six or twelve modules depending on user requirements. A twelve-block plant has a maximum capacity of 924 MW, while the first installation in Romania will have six blocks, for a total capacity of 462 MW.
Contract for URCS
Under the new agreement, Doosan will now manufacture the Upper Reactor Cooling System (URCS), a key component of the reactor pressure vessel that maintains the coolant at high temperature and pressure.
“This contract represents an important step in SMR technology’s journey from technical validation to actual manufacturing,” Jongdoo Kim, CEO of Doosan Enerbility’s Nuclear Business Group, said in a press release. “Doosan will build on our extensive nuclear manufacturing experience and continue to support NuScale’s commercial projects.”
“This agreement is a significant step in translating our approved design into deliverable modules,” added John Hopkins, president and CEO of NuScale Power. “Doosan’s nuclear production facility and the work we have done together since 2019 gives us the production capacity and process maturity we need to deliver NPMs according to the schedules required by our customers.”
While NuScale works to build its first plant in Romania, Doosan will work to add more manufacturing capacity to support reactor module production. The company is also strengthening its supply chain and manufacturing readiness to ensure it can deliver components to NuScale on a timely basis.
