Designs to build SMR (Small Modular Reactor) are underway in more than 17 countries. The global SMR market is projected to reach US$300 billion by 2040. Several countries have SMR designs in various stages of development. However, the move to large-scale commercial deployment of SMRs has been a key issue in the debate about the future of nuclear energy and the role of smaller reactors.
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United States (US): The US government has identified the importance of SMRs in its efforts to develop “options for nuclear energy safe, clean and affordable. According to the Department of Nuclear energy of the country, lightweight water-cooled SMRs are under license review and will possibly be deployed in the late 2020s or early 2030s. In September 2020, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved NuScale Power’s SMR design, making it the first SMR of its kind to receive NRC approval in the US The NuScale SMR is an advanced light water SMR capable of generating 60 MWe and is approximately a third of a large-scale nuclear reactor. The reactor is expected to be located at the Idaho National Laboratory with operations to begin in 2029. The NRC is also in the process of reviewing the first US boiling water SMR design.
Canada: In addition to the US, Canada has emphasized the role of SMRs in the country’s nuclear sector. In 2018, Canada’s NRCan brought together key stakeholders from across the country to discuss and build an extensive roadmap for SMR in Canada. In December 2020, the government, with its partners, launched an action plan for SMR to update SMR in the country. In particular, Canada’s Global First Power has applied for a license for its Micro Modular Reactor with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). This would be Canada’s first SMR with operations scheduled to begin around 2026.
United Kingdom (UK): In November 2021, the UK government announced its commitment of around £210m to the development of the Rolls-Royce SMR, which has been matched by private investment of over £250m. Rolls-Royce intends to build a 470 MWe SMR with availability for UK power grids in the early 2030s.
The US government has identified the importance of SMRs in its efforts to develop “options for nuclear energy safe, clean and affordable. According to the Department of Nuclear energy of the country, lightweight water-cooled SMRs are under license review and will possibly be deployed in the late 2020s or early 2030s.
Russia: The plant of nuclear energy Russia’s floating Akademik Lomonosov completed a year of operation in May 2021. Russia’s nuclear corporation, Rosatom, is working on the future site of an SMR in far eastern Siberia, which is expected to be completed by 2028. This plant they include the RITM-200 reactor, which is a 50MWe new generation nuclear icebreaker unit.
China: Most recently, and notably, China became the world’s first country with a small modular nuclear reactor in 2021. The country announced the commissioning of Huaneng Group Co.’s 200 MW unite 1 reactor in Shidao Bay. The SMR is nearly one-fifth the size of China’s first homegrown nuclear reactor design, Hualong One. Additionally, it has been estimated that China intends to invest around US$440 billion in nuclear energy for the next 40 years.
Other countries: Argentina is in an advanced stage of construction of the 27MW Argentine CAREM. US NuScale has signed agreements to build SMRS in Canada, Romania, the Czech Republic and Jordan.
Challenges
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Future
Given the opportunities presented by SMRs, there is a need to promote SMR technologies as an option for nuclear energy viable to meet both the world’s growing energy needs and the search for low-carbon energy options. Compared to reactors nuclear energy On a large scale, SMR technology provides a simpler and intrinsically safer opportunity for expansion of the nuclear power sector. SMRs have lower fuel requirements, smaller physical area requirements, and have the potential for large-scale production, transportation, and factory setup globally. Given the interest and active participation of the public and private sectors in countries such as Argentina, Canada, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Korea in SMR, the future of nuclear energy as a viable energy alternative rests on upgrading the potential of SMR technology worldwide. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to energy (SDG 7), SMRs and nuclear power offer more efficiency and flexibility in meeting energy demands than other renewable alternatives such as wind and solar.
News taken from: ORF-ONLINE / Free translation from English by World Energy Trade
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