NuScale Power has selected BWX Technologies Inc (BWXT) as the first manufacturer of its small modular reactor (SMR). This marks the transition to the manufacturing phase and represents major progress in bringing the technology to market.
BWXT will immediately start work on this first manufacturing phase of NuScale’s SMR, which we expect will continue through June 2020. NuScale will contract for the remaining two phases, preparation for fabrication then fabrication, at a later date. BWXT is a leading supplier of nuclear components and fuel to both the U.S. government and commercial nuclear power industry. It expects to use Pennsylvania-based Precision Custom Components as a component manufacturing contractor on this project.
NuScale’s self-contained SMR design houses the reactor core, pressurizer and steam generator inside a single containment vessel. A single module can generate 50 MWe (gross) of electricity and at just under 25 meters in length, 4.6 meters in diameter and weighing 450 tonnes, incorporates simple, redundant, diverse, and independent safety features. A power plant could include up to 12 modules, to produce as much as 600 MWe (gross).
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