Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin have reached a partnership agreement designed to accelerate Holtec's Small Modular Reactor program “to develop and deploy SMR-160 power plants around the world,” the companies said Tuesday.
The agreement “aims to vigorously accelerate the reactor systems ongoing development and international licensing efforts,” the companies said in a statement. The companies said their symbiotic partnership relied on SNC-Lavalin's “world class Nuclear team” and Holtec's SMR development.
SNC-Lavalin's nuclear division, based in Mississauga, Ontario, is a nuclear engineering concern specializing in design and supply of nuclear reactors as well as nuclear reactor products and services. In 2011, SNC-Lavalin purchased the Candu Energy, the commercial reactor division of Atomic Energy of Canada, Limited.
Under the current deal, SNC-Lavalin will provide Holtec with a range of nuclear engineering sercvices, including supporting licensing of the SMR-160 reactor.
The SMR-160 is described as an intrinsically safe reactor that offers modular-design cost benefits and the flexibility to be attractive to a variety of remote locations with industrial or residential purposes, such as powering an isolated population center or an isolated industrial cite, such as a mine or a desalination plant. “This advanced nuclear power plant has major appeal in domestic and international markets, offering a right-sized, cost-effective solution for carbon-free energy and ensuring attainable power options to existing and emerging global economies," the companies said.
“We know the global nuclear market for safe, economic nuclear power continues to grow,” said Preston Swafford, SNC-Lavalin's chief nuclear officer and executive vice president of nuclear operations. “Partnering with Holtec in the SMR-160 brings us a walk-away-safe reactor design that will deliver clean, affordable, reliable electricity supply around the world,” he said.