GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy said Monday that Dominion Energy has agreed to help fund efforts to bring the BWRX-300 small nuclear reactor to market.
The company did not divulge the size of the investment, but GEH Executive Vice President of Nuclear Power Projects Jon Ball said GEH was “thrilled” Dominion Energy had decided to lend a hand. “The BWRX-300 represents a significant improvement in the economics of new nuclear, an imperative for the long-term viability of the industry,” Ball said in a statement..
The announcement noted that Dominion Energy has not indicated it was interested in citing a BWRX-300 system at any of its existing power plants, only that it was supplying funding for a portion of its development and wanted to get in on the project early.
“We … believe the innovations GE Hitachi is pursuing with the BWRX-300 SMR have the potential to make it a strong competitor in the marketplace,” said Dan Stoddard, Dominion's Chief Nuclear Officer.
GEH is aiming to develop a Small Modular Reactor system that is inherently safer and cheaper to build than current, traditionally-sized nuclear power plants. The BWRX-300 is potentially 60 percent cheaper to build per MW than a standard nuclear power plant, the company says.