Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

A couple of excerpts from the article:
WASHINGTON — A budding effort between the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Air Force and Army to shore up homeland installations with nuclear energy powered by microreactors is moving forward after the DoD determined eight vendors are now qualified to proceed with demonstrating the technology.


Under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) initiative, the DIU team aims to field nuclear microreactors that can support operations across domains by supplementing energy sources at DoD installations, whose power is typically drawn from commercial grids.
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According to an April 10 announcement, eight different awardees have now been deemed eligible to offer designs under the ANPI program. Those companies are:


  • Antares Nuclear, Inc
  • BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
  • General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
  • Kairos Power, LLC
  • Oklo Inc.
  • Radiant Industries Incorporated
  • Westinghouse Government Services
  • X-Energy, LLC
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Rolls-Royce has won a competition to be the first company to try to build small modular nuclear reactors in the UK, as part of a government effort to push Britain to the frontier of nuclear energy technology.
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www.theguardian.com

Rolls-Royce named winning bidder for UK small nuclear reactors

FTSE 100 firm beats two US-owned companies as government pushes nuclear power with Sizewell C investment
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
£2.4bn over the next four years for Rolls Royce for SMR, not much details over numbers and location but said they were purchasing around 1.5GW and Rolls Royce current design is 470MW each.

Meanwhile £14.2bn allocated to Sizewell C in which the government has around a 75% stake along with a minority EDF stake after buying out the Chinese. Sizewell C is a 3.2GW design
 
Halcyon66 said:
www.dailymail.co.uk

America's largest airport reveals 'plan' to build NUCLEAR REACTOR

A major international airport has reportedly revealed plans to explore the possibility of building a nuclear reactor on its property.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
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America's largest airport by size is reportedly considering plans to build a nuclear reactor on its sprawling 33,500-acre property.

Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington, 67, made the shocking revelation during a recent Future of Aerotropolis event hosted by local business publication, Business Den.

Washington, a former pick to lead Joe Biden's FAA before he withdrew under heavy Republican criticism over the airport's safety record, told the panel discussion the he was seriously considering a 'small modular reactor' to meet growing energy demands.
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Grey Havoc said:
www.telegraph.co.uk

Nuclear power start-up pulls out of Britain as Miliband drags feet

Newcleo plans to build new facility in France after frustration with Labour’s indecision
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk
(Registration or subscription may be required)
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Can’t read the article, but a short search on the net shows that Newcleo is French, and additionally plans lead-cooled fast reactors.

To be honest, lead-cooling would give me pause for thought - given it’s previous record.

And given that the UK has plumped for the Rolls Royce SMR, energy pounds are probably best spent there - supporting British jobs and worldwide opportunities.
 
The thing with fast-reactors, Scott, is that they can be used to burnup transuranic* waste from spent fuel-rods along with pesky long-lived fission products greatly simplifying the handling and disposal of them also the refuelling intervals are longer for fast-reactors making more efficient use of their fuel.

*Except for Plutonium as that is useful as reactor-fuel.
 
Regarding the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program:
www.world-nuclear-news.org

Radiant signs deal to supply microreactor for US military base

California-based Radiant said an agreement it has signed with the Defense Innovation Unit and the Department of the Air Force is the first-ever deal designed to deliver a mass-manufactured nuclear microreactor to a US military base. ;
www.world-nuclear-news.org
 
hardware.slashdot.org

Google Plans Advanced Nuclear Reactor Project For Tennessee - Slashdot

Google, TVA, and Kairos Power are teaming up to power data centers with advanced nuclear energy through a collaboration in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The project aims to deliver 50 MW of nuclear energy by 2030. From a blog post: Today we announced the first deployment of Kairos Power's advanced...
hardware.slashdot.org
 

Sweden picks mini-reactor tech for first nuclear expansion in 50 years

METATEXT
www.spacewar.com
​
WAR.WIRE
Sweden picks mini-reactor tech for first nuclear expansion in 50 years
Stockholm, Aug 21 (AFP) Aug 21, 2025

Sweden said Thursday that it had selected so-called small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) for its first nuclear power expansion in a half-century.


The government said three or five of the next-generation reactors would be built at the Ringhals plant in southwestern Sweden, providing around 1,500 megawatts -- the equivalent of two classic reactors.


"For the first time in 50 years, new nuclear power will be built in Sweden," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference.


The Scandinavian country voted in a nonbinding 1980 referendum to phase out nuclear power, and since then has shut down six of its 12 ageing reactors.


But a political majority is now in favour of extending nuclear power, along with renewable energy sources, to reduce its use of fossil fuels.


Sweden's state energy utility Vattenfall, which had also been considering classic reactor technology, said it was in negotiations with British group Rolls-Royce and American group GE Vernova to build the mini-reactors.


Chief executive Anna Borg said the cost of the project "was still a matter of negotiation," adding that Vattenfall aimed to have the new reactors built by around 2035.


Sweden's six active reactors currently generate about 30 percent of its electricity needs.


SMRs are advanced reactors that have a power capacity of 300 to 500 megawatts of electricity per unit.


They are relatively simple to build, which makes them more affordable than large power reactors.


po/js​
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world-nuclear-news.org

Site of Poland's first SMR selected

Poland's first small modular reactor is to be constructed in Włocławek, Orlen has announced. The site decision was announced as the state-owned power firm and Synthos Green Energy agreed on the operating model of their joint venture to build and operate SMRs. ;
world-nuclear-news.org

interestingengineering.com

Poland to host Europe's first advanced small nuclear power plant

Poland will host Europe’s first BWRX-300 small modular reactor in Włocławek, announced by state-run energy company Orlen.
interestingengineering.com interestingengineering.com

notesfrompoland.com

State energy giant Orlen announces agreement to build Poland's first small nuclear reactor

notesfrompoland.com notesfrompoland.com

ioplus.nl

Poland will build its first small modular reactor

Poland's state-owned energy company, Orlen, has announced an agreement to build the country's first small modular nuclear reactor.
ioplus.nl ioplus.nl
 
New Zealand could do with some of these SMRs in Northland (Basically the only seismically stable area in New Zealand for building something like a nuclear-reactor).
 
starviking said:
Can’t read the article, but a short search on the net shows that Newcleo is French, and additionally plans lead-cooled fast reactors.

To be honest, lead-cooling would give me pause for thought - given it’s previous record.

And given that the UK has plumped for the Rolls Royce SMR, energy pounds are probably best spent there - supporting British jobs and worldwide opportunities.
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I don't see big problems with lead cooled reactors, these is about the safest thing you can do. It is surly easier to handle than molten Sodium and keeping it warm shouldn't be a big issue either. Even if it would solidify it wouldn't be a safety hazard.
 
Lead-cooling enables fast reactors (They have high-energy fast-neutrons) which can operate on a wider range of fuel enrichment levels and can be used to "Burn Up" programmatic long-lived fission-products such as the trans-uranics greatly simplifying high-level nuclear waste storage facilities.
 
When you talk SMR to folks that actually work in nuclear field , they often say SMRs are mostly hype and extremely poor economics, they are best suited to where there is no viable alternatives. Like hard to reach places, offshore plants, desalinisation etc stuff that does not need to compete with mainstream electrical providers on economic terms. None that are actually being built qualify as SMR as they are not a serial product but a bespoke one-off with extremely unfavorable economics. At present Chinese and Russian conventional nucrear reactors are more 'modular' and 'serial' than any of the SMR projects.

blog.ucs.org

Five Things the “Nuclear Bros” Don’t Want You to Know About Small Modular Reactors

A realistic understanding of their costs and risks is critical.
blog.ucs.org
 
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This is propably right, but there are enough use cases with preferable conditions. A nuclear reactor produces about two times as much energy as heat than as eletricity with most smr running on higher temperatures. Smr are much more suitable to provide e.g. large chemical plants or mid sized towns with electricity and heat.

Right now, no one claims they are cheaper to built per kwh, but possibly this might change with large scale production. Could also not be the case, I can't judge it, but I totally agree that modularity is a thing the Chinese are really doing increasingly. Large reactors are also much cheaper if you built them continously without political interruptions.
 
Also the age of cheap electricity is over and a less efficient reactor makes more sense today, as they have numerous advantages in term short term investments, smaller footprint such as lower cost of land and agility with environment variables (water flows, weather, surge in temperatures etc...).
Where large traditional power plants are efficient at the detriment of complexification, SMR reverse the paradigms for a negligible increase in customers cost.
 
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Mr.T said:
When you talk SMR to folks that actually work in nuclear field , they often say SMRs are mostly hype and extremely poor economics, they are best suited to where there is no viable alternatives. Like hard to reach places, offshore plants, desalinisation etc stuff that does not need to compete with mainstream electrical providers on economic terms. None that are actually being built qualify as SMR as they are not a serial product but a bespoke one-off with extremely unfavorable economics. At present Chinese and Russian conventional nucrear reactors are more 'modular' and 'serial' than any of the SMR projects.

blog.ucs.org

Five Things the “Nuclear Bros” Don’t Want You to Know About Small Modular Reactors

A realistic understanding of their costs and risks is critical.
blog.ucs.org
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This article is very biased and is totally ignoring many key advantages and uses single examples of one type (preferred the very conventional Nuescale reactor) as an example for SMR in General. For example, when he talks about efficiency, he is completely ignoring the fat, that many of the SMR are fast reactors which are about 50 times more efficient than thermal neutron reactors which can only use 2 % of the natural Uranium (only 235). Many other claims are also false, if the radioactive material is solved in salt or liquid lead, it will not be released in the eviroment as in conventional reactors. Even if the reactor is totally destroyed, just a thin layer on the surface from a pit of molten salt or lead can release radioactive material into the environment.

Fast MSR can burn long lived radioactive waste and independent research was recently done and confirmed it for molten salt reactors (https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/moltex-reactor-can-consume-used-fuel-research-confirms . Strangely he didn't write anything about the advantages of fast reactors.

It is also not coherent with any industrial experiences, that large scale production can reduce cost only by 30 %.


P.S.: Nuescale is a conventional light water reactor which is built so small, that natural convection can be used instead of water pumps. Other than that, it works exactly as any other light water reactor.

Also Node, Ed Lyman is fulfilling his job at the ''Union of critical scientist'', so he is simply doing what is expected from him for his job. He will never tell anything positive about any nuclear reactor, because this is not a part of his job.
 
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www.theguardian.com

UK and US line up string of deals to build modular nuclear reactors in Britain

Agreements include plan to build 12 reactors in Hartlepool with Centrica, creating 2,500 jobs, and fast-tracking UK and US safety checks
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Labour’s plans for a massive expansion of nuclear power have been given a boost with a string of transatlantic deals for new modular reactors announced before Donald Trump’s visit.
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In the biggest and most advanced commercial project, Britain’s largest energy supplier Centrica will pair with the US reactor firm X-energy to build up to 12 advanced modular reactors in Hartlepool, announcing an investment that could create up to 2,500 jobs in the north-east of England.

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the US-UK agreement, expected to be signed off formally during the state visit, was a “landmark nuclear partnership” that would also power economic growth.

He said: “These major commitments set us well on course to a golden age of nuclear that will drive down household bills in the long run, while delivering thousands of good jobs in the short term.”

Under the unprecedented agreement, Britain and the US will accept each other’s safety checks on reactor designs, almost halving the time for a nuclear project to be licensed to about two years.
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This appears to be do with powering data centres here.

Other ventures announced include plans by the US nuclear firm Holtec, EDF Energy and the property developer Tritax, for advanced datacentres powered by small modular reactors at the former Cottam coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, in an £11bn project.
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Ministers also hope to attract major US tech investment in AI datacentres with the promise of abundant electricity to meet their huge power requirements.


The US secretary of energy, Chris Wright, said the US was looking to commercial nuclear power to “fuel the AI revolution”. He said: “Meeting this demand will require strong partnerships with our allies around the world and robust collaboration with private sector innovators.”
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This was news to me, we were still dependent on Russian nuclear material!!!
As well as attempting to reduce broader reliance on overseas energy, the UK-US agreement – known as the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy – will look to eliminate any remaining dependency on Russian nuclear material by the end of 2028.
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www.turkiyetoday.com

Türkiye signs nuclear deal with US during Trump-Erdogan meeting - Türkiye Today

Turkish Energy Ministry announced that Türkiye signed nuclear deal with the US during Erdogan-Trump summit
www.turkiyetoday.com www.turkiyetoday.com

Türkiye's nuclear energy ambitions​

The latest understanding with the United States builds on Türkiye’s broader strategy to expand its nuclear capacity as part of efforts to diversify energy supply, reduce reliance on imported natural gas, and meet growing electricity demand.

The country’s first nuclear power project, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in southern Mersin province, is being built by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom. The $20 billion facility, consisting of four reactors with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts, is expected to begin operations in stages, with the first unit scheduled to be operational by 2026.

In addition to Akkuyu, Türkiye has long discussed plans for two further projects: one at Sinop on the Black Sea coast, and another in the Thrace region in the northwest. The government has been in talks with several international partners, including Japan, South Korea, China, and now the United States, for investment and technology transfer.

Beyond large-scale plants, Türkiye has also expressed interest in small modular reactors (SMRs), a newer technology considered more flexible and potentially faster to deploy. Officials have said SMRs could be located closer to industrial zones or integrated with renewable energy systems to provide a stable supply.
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A less mentioned feature of SMR is to side-step ghastly cost and lead-time of creating on-shore interlinks. IIRC, several large UK 'renewable' projects are stalled because they would not be able to get the power off-site...
 

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