NuScale has added another partner to help commercialize its 45 megawatt small modular reactor.
On Thursday, the Oregon-based company announced Rolls-Royce will play “a key role” in preparing NuScale's application for funding from the Department of Energy to help develop SMR technology. Rolls-Royce is a longstanding player in the UK's nuclear industry, and the partnership also provides the potential to bring NuScale's SMR to foreign markets.
“With the addition of Rolls-Royce’s world-class manufacturing capability to the NuScale team, we bring a wealth of experience to the development, production and maintenance of advanced nuclear technologies across global markets,” NuScale CEO John Hopkins said in a release.
His company's reactor system has the potential to allow for scalable, multi-unit plants with modules that are entirely factory-fabricated. A light water reactor based on technology developed at Oregon State University and the Idaho National Laboratory, it is cooled by natural convection and can shut down without pumps or mechanical systems. Fluor acquired 55 percent of the company and made a $30 million investment in 2011.
The Department of Energy will award up to $452 million to help license and develop SMRs. Babcock & Wilcox won the first portion of that money last year, and NuScale is in competition with Westinghouse and Holtec International for the remaining funds.