US460 design will support growing capacity needs and worldwide demand, company says
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved NuScale Power’s uprated US460 small modular reactor (SMR) design that could now go into service by the end of the decade.
The uprate approval increases the power output per module to 77 MW from NuScale’s previously-approved 50 MW design. US-based NuScale said it remains the only SMR technology company with design approval from the NRC and is on track for deployment by 2030.
“NuScale’s uprated design features the same fundamental safety case and passive safety features previously approved by the NRC with a power uprate and select design changes to support growing capacity needs,” the company said in a statement.
The NRC noted that the US460 design continues to use natural “passive” processes such as convection and gravity in its operating systems and safety features.
NuScale’s application for standard design approval of the US460 SMR design was accepted for NRC review in July 2023.
The US460’s six modules, producing a total of approximately 460 MW of electricity, are all partially immersed in a safety-related pool built below ground level.
NuScale is working with Entra1, a US-based energy production company which is developing, financing and owning plants.
Entra1 is pursuing contracts to build nuclear power plants with several customers, NuScale chief executive officer John Hopkins said. He said he expects to complete a deal this year, possibly paving the way for delivering electricity by the end of the decade.
Entra1 holds the global exclusive rights to the commercialisation, distribution and deployment of NuScale’s SMRs.
‘There’s Worldwide Demand For This’
“This really is a huge milestone, not just for NuScale but for clean energy,” Hopkins said. “There’s worldwide demand for this.”
The NRC said a standard design approval indicates that a proposed reactor design meets applicable agency safety requirements.
Companies that plan to use the US460 design would still have to file applications seeking permission to build and operate a nuclear reactor using the approved design.
“Future applicants can use the new approval to apply to us for a construction or operating licence,” the NRC said in a social media post.
The regulator said the technical review had been completed ahead of schedule and under budget, demonstrating its commitment to safely and efficiently enable new, advanced reactor technology.
Following the November 2023 cancellation of the 462-MW Carbon Free Power Project in Idaho, NuScale’s most advanced project is an effort to build a 462-MW nuclear generation facility on the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Romania, Hopkins said recently.
The Carbon Free Power Project was for the construction of a demonstration NuScale SMR power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory that was scheduled to be online in 2029.
