Six teams in running for government's small nuclear reactors rollout - Architect's Journal
Six teams in running for government’s small nuclear reactors rollout
Energy giants EDF, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International, Holtec Britain, NuScale Power, Rolls-Royce and Westinghouse Electric Company UK will advance to the next phase of the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) contest.
Great British Nuclear, the government-backed body driving forward nuclear projects across the country, has not released the details of any architects collaborating with the six lead technology companies.
However, it is known that Anglo-Dutch practice Instance, which is headed by former YRM and Scott Brownrigg director Iain Macdonald, has already drawn up SMR proposals for GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
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AJ100 practice Jacobs is also working with Rolls-Royce on developing designs for its own compact nuclear power station model.
The six teams will now be invited to bid for government contracts later this year, with the successful companies announced in spring 2024 and the contracts awarded later that summer.
Unlike conventional nuclear reactors built on site, as at Hinkley Point, SMRs are smaller and could be fabricated more quickly and less expensively in factories.
The SMR competition is part of the government’s plan to revive nuclear power and for the UK to ‘lead the global race to develop cutting-edge technologies to rapidly deliver cleaner, cheaper energy and greater energy security’.
The government wants SMRs to be operational by the mid-2030s, with the aim of generating a quarter of all UK electricity from nuclear power by 2050.
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Gwen Parry-Jones, chief executive of Great British Nuclear said: ‘[This]announcement is a key step forward in delivering the government’s objective of boosting nuclear power in this country.
‘Our priority in this process has been to prioritise reliable and sustainable power to the grid early, and that’s why we have focused our first step on the technologies that we viewed as most likely to meet the objective of a final investment decision in 2029.’
She added: ‘These companies will now be able to prepare for the next stages of the competition, aiming for a final contract agreement in the summer, potentially benefiting from significant support from the public purse.’
Jacobs’ SMR proposal for Rolls-Royce
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.