Small Nuclear Power Reactors

UK support for SMRs

In March 2016 the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) called for expressions of interest in a competition to identify the best value SMR for the UK. This relates to a government announcement in November 2015 that it would invest at least £250 million over five years in nuclear R&D including SMRs. DECC said the objective of the initial phase is "to gauge market interest among technology developers, utilities, potential investors and funders in developing, commercializing and financing SMRs in the UK." It said this stage would be a "structured dialogue" between the government and participants, using a published set of criteria, including that the SMR design must “be designed for manufacture and assembly, and … able to achieve in-factory production of modular components or systems amounting to a minimum of 40% of the total plant cost.”

In 2015 Westinghouse had presented a proposal for a “shared design and development model" under which the company would contribute its SMR conceptual design and then partner with UK government and industry to complete, license and deploy it. The partnership would be structured as a UK-based enterprise jointly owned by Westinghouse, the UK government and UK industry. NuScale said it aims to deploy its SMR technology in the UK with UK partners, so that the first of its 50 MWe units could be in operation by the mid-2020s. Rolls-Royce is reported to have submitted a detailed design to the government for a 220 MWe SMR unit (no details yet public).

Other countries

Urenco has called for European development of very small – 5 to 10 MWe – 'plug and play' inherently-safe reactors based on graphite-moderated HTR concepts. It is seeking government support for a prototype "U-Battery" which would run for 5-10 years before requiring refuelling or servicing.

Already operating in a remote corner of Siberia are four small units at the Bilibino co-generation plant. These four 62 MWt (thermal) units are an unusual graphite-moderated boiling water design with water/steam channels through the moderator. They produce steam for district heating and 11 MWe (net) electricity each. They have performed well since 1976, much more cheaply than fossil fuel alternatives in the Arctic region.

Also in the small reactor category are the Indian 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) based on Canadian technology, and the Chinese 300-325 MWe PWR such as built at Qinshan Phase I and at Chashma in Pakistan, and now called CNP-300. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is now focusing on 540 MWe and 700 MWe versions of its PHWR, and is offering both 220 and 540 MWe versions internationally. These small established designs are relevant to situations requiring small to medium units, though they are not state of the art technology.

Another significant line of development is in very small fast reactors of under 50 MWe. Some are conceived for areas away from transmission grids and with small loads; others are designed to operate in clusters in competition with large units.

Other, mostly larger new designs are described in the information page on Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors.