Small nuclear reactors (SMRs)

Climate change definitely strengthens the case for nuclear power, but it is very hard to determine just how strong that case really is, particularly on economic grounds. Climate change does nothing to lessen the risks associated with accidents or nuclear proliferation, but it does represent some of the most significant risks associated with fossil fuel based forms of electricity generation.

Some of the major barriers to the deployment of new nuclear power plants are cost and long lead-in times. Construction can easily take a decade or more. One means by which both of those issues could potentially be addressed is through the use of small modular nuclear reactors. This is an approach being experimented with by a number of groups, including Russia’s state nuclear energy company (which is building a floating, towable nuclear power station) and firms like TerraPower, which has been enthusiastically endorsed by Bill Gates.

One of the most interesting possible uses for small nuclear reactors is as ‘drop-in’ replacements for the coal-burning parts of old power plants. Potentially, the heat source in a power plant could be switched from the combustion of coal to the fission of uranium, keeping most of the rest of the plant’s infrastructure in place. In particular, such converted plants could make use of existing transmission capacity.

I can’t say whether small nuclear reactors really are a more economical or appealing option overall, but it seems like a technology to watch as the world struggles to find ways to achieve carbon neutrality.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

55 thoughts on “Small nuclear reactors (SMRs)”

  1. One thing relevant to market economies and to governments forced to take the short term view: the economist article linked suggests that a return on investment can be had much more quickly from a modular reactor than a traditional one. Even if the cost per unit of electricity is the same, the ability to recover an investment more quickly is highly relevant in our economies based more on speed than long term viability.

  2. A major reason for consideration of the smaller modular nuclear reactor is the importance on quickly turning the corner on the emission of greenhouse gases. Introduction of small nuclear reactors into coal generation facilities seems to be an earlier way to turning that corner.

    Do you know of anywhere where this has occurred?

  3. As far as I know, these small reactors are just in the planning stages and nobody has swapped one in as a fuel source in a power station formerly driven by fossil fuels.

  4. I wonder if the development of small nuclear reactors could become a project for Canada not unlike the CANDU reactor became in the 1950″s and 1960’s. On the other hand, perhaps safe and effective development and use of small nuclear reactors may be better done through international co-operation. In any even, in this world of miniaturization, I can see it being possible. Use of existing fossil fuel infrastructure connected with transmission lines seems a natural fit. Perhaps Ministries and Environment and Industry of Western countries including Canada, can work together in that regard.

    I think one of the challenges is that, it seems that the Ministries of Industry and Environment hesitate to co-operate towards the goal of providing cleaner forms of energy.

  5. There is no guarantee that small reactors would be more economical than larger ones (or than alternatives like renewable energy).

    That being said, the urgency of dealing with climate change makes me think we should pursue a portfolio of approaches, to maximize the odds that some will work well in time.

  6. Utilities split over small nuclear reactor economics

    Washington (Platts)–18Feb2011/509 am EST/1009 GMT

    Despite enthusiasm among nuclear reactor vendors and the Obama administration about the potential of small nuclear reactors, some utilities remain to be convinced of their economic viability.

    Bill Johnson, CEO, chairman and president of Progress Energy said Thursday the company is unlikely to build small nuclear reactors in the next two decades, even though some vendors hope to make such units commercially available by 2020.

    Johnson said it is “an intriguing thought” to build nuclear power plants “on a small scale, plug-in and play, [and] modular” fashion, but he added that “the timetable for that looks more like the 2030s, just given the pace of development.”

    By then, he said most remaining coal plants will be large units, as Progress is retiring a third of its coal plants, mostly smaller ones, and replacing some of them with natural gas. Johnson spoke at a Platts conference on nuclear energy in Bethesda, Maryland.

    “It’s going to come down to cost,” said Johnson. If a 100-MW plant will have to need the same size security and operating staff as a 1,000-MW unit, he said, “that’s going to make it difficult.”

    Duke Energy has proposed acquiring Progress in an all-stock deal. Johnson would be CEO of the combined company, which would be the largest utility in the US.

  7. Atomic power stations out at sea may be better than inland ones

    …

    Land-based power stations are bespoke structures, built by the techniques of civil engineering, in which each is slightly different and teams of specialists come and go according to the phase of the project. Marine stations, by contrast, could be mass-produced in factories using, if not the techniques of the assembly line, then at least those of the shipyard, with crews constantly employed.

    …

    But a slightly less ambitious approach to marine reactors—anchoring them on the surface rather than below it—is about to come to fruition in Russia. The first such, Akademik Lomonosov, is under construction at the Baltic Shipyard, in St Petersburg (see picture). According to Andrey Bukhovtsev of Rosatom, the agency that runs Russia’s civil nuclear programme, it is 96% complete. It will be launched later this year, towed to Murmansk, and thence transported to Pevek, a port in Russia’s Far East, where it will begin generating power in 2019.

    Akademik Lomonosov consists of two 35MW reactors mounted on a barge. The reactors are modified versions of those used to power Taymyr-class icebreakers. As such, they are designed to be able to take quite a battering, so the storms of the Arctic Ocean should not trouble them. To add to their safety, the barge bearing them will be moored, about 200 metres from shore, behind a storm-and-tsunami-resistant breakwater.

    Altogether, Akademik Lomonosov will cost $480m to build and install—far less than would have to be spent constructing an equivalent power station on land in such a remote and hostile environment. And, on the presumption that the whole thing will work, plans for a second, similar plant are being laid.

  8. First partner announced for New Brunswick SMR project

    The New Brunswick Energy Solutions Corporation yesterday announced Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC) as its first partner in a nuclear research cluster that will work on research and development of small modular reactor technology in the Canadian province.

    —

    Moltex partners in New Brunswick SMR project

    UK-based Moltex Energy will build a demonstration SSR-W (Stable Salt Reactor – Wasteburner) at the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant site in Canada under an agreement signed with the New Brunswick Energy Solutions Corporation and NB Power. Moltex becomes the second partner in a nuclear research cluster that will work on research and development of small modular reactor technology in the Canadian province.

  9. “ARC is developing the ARC-100, a 100 MWe integrated sodium-cooled fast reactor with a metallic uranium alloy core. The company last year signed an agreement with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to collaborate on development and licensing, and uses proprietary technology from GEH’s PRISM reactor. Both the PRISM and ARC-100 designs are based on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) integral sodium-cooled fast reactor prototype which operated at the USA’s Argonne National Laboratory from 1961, finally shutting down in 1994.”

  11. “Ontario-based Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in April 2018 launched an invitation for SMR project proponents to evaluate the construction and operation of a demonstration unit at one of its sites. Canada’s federal Department of Natural Resources in November 2018 issued a roadmap for the development of SMRs in the country, while Saskatchewan’s roadmap for growth, published in November, included goals to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation and to develop SMR technology with the possibility of a first operational SMR in the province by the middle of the 2030s. The government of New Brunswick is supporting the development of a nuclear research and development cluster in the province.”

  12. California-based Oklo Inc has announced the launch of its Aurora energy plant which is powered by a small reactor with integrated solar panels. The company is preparing to submit its first licence application for the plant.

    Oklo describes Aurora as an “advanced fission clean energy plant design developed to power communities with affordable, reliable, clean power.” The Aurora “powerhouse” includes a “fission battery” which uses metallic fuel. It can produce about 1.5 MW of electrical power and can also produce usable heat, the company says.

    http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Oklo-unveils-its-vision-of-Aurora-plant

  13. SMR design review enters final phases

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed the fourth phase of its review of the design certification application for NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR). With two final phases remaining, this marks the near-completion of the technical aspects of the review.

  14. “NuScale’s SMR design features a fully fabricated power module based on pressurised light water reactor technology. Each module can generate up to 60 MWe, and the scalable design can be used in power plants of up to 12 individual modules. It is the first – and so far only – SMR to undergo a design certification review by the NRC. This is scheduled for completion by September 2020, and a 12-module NuScale plant at a site at the Idaho National Laboratory is planned for deployment in the mid-2020s. The project to bring the reactor into production has received support from a public-private partnership with the US Department of Energy as well as from Congress.”

  15. US and Canadian regulators select SMR for joint review

    The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have selected Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) for their first joint technical review of an advanced, non-light water nuclear reactor technology, Terrestrial announced yesterday.

    —

    New Brunswick affirms support for Point Lepreau SMR

    New Brunswick Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland yesterday affirmed the province’s support for the siting of ARC Nuclear Canada Inc’s ARC-100 small modular reactor (SMR) at the existing Point Lepreau nuclear power plant.

  17. GE Hitachi initiates US licensing of BWRX-300

    GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has officially started the regulatory licensing process for its BWRX-300 reactor design. On 30 December, the company submitted the first licensing topical report for the small modular reactor to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The company expects such reports to serve as a foundation for the development of a Preliminary Safety Analysis Report that could potentially be submitted to the NRC by a utility customer.

  18. Finnish regulator prepares for SMR licensing

    Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Stuk) has published a report discussing the safety assessment and licensing of small modular reactors (SMRs). The regulator says it is preparing for the licensing of such reactors “due to the national and international interest in them.”

  19. First U.S. Small Modular Boiling Water Reactor Under Development

    GE Hitachi (GEH) is expanding its nuclear portfolio by developing a smaller and simplified version of its licensed Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). The BWRX-300 design is the ONLY boiling water small modular reactor (SMR) under development in the United States. It recently began the licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is one of a handful of new reactor technologies that could be on the market within the decade.

  20. Oklo wins access to used fuel for Aurora SMR

    Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is to provide Oklo Inc with access to recovered material from used nuclear fuel to develop and demonstrate the Oklo Aurora – a micro-reactor that can be used in remote or off-grid locations to generate power. Jacob DeWitte, Oklo co-founder and CEO, said the award paves the way for an important demonstration of the first Aurora plant, as well as the “ability of advanced reactors to convert used nuclear fuel, that would otherwise be treated for disposal, into clean energy”.

  21. GE Hitachi submits SMR design for Canadian review

    GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has made its first submittals to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for the vendor design review (VDR) of its BWRX-300 small modular reactor. The submittals are for the combined first two phases of the three-phase process and address eight of the 19 VDR focus areas.

  23. The idea of small reactors is as old as nuclear power itself. In July 1951, five months before a reactor in Idaho became the first in the world to produce usable electricity through fission, America began building USS Nautilus, a nuclear-powered submarine. In the 1960s and 1970s small reactors powered bases in Alaska and Greenland, a radar facility in Wyoming, a research station in Antarctica and—from a cargo ship—the Panama Canal Zone. America still uses nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft-carriers. But land-based mini-reactors proved unreliable and expensive and have fallen out of favour.

    Interest has been revived by recent wars, in which American forces proved extraordinarily hungry for energy. Early in the Iraq war, fuel made up over a third of the tonnage transported to the region. Between 2001 and 2010, over half of American casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan occurred during land-transport missions, many involving fuel deliveries to remote outposts. Portable reactors could substitute for unreliable power grids or the generators that often take their place.

    America’s armed forces use about 30 terawatt-hours of electricity per year—about the same as Ireland—and more than 35m litres of fuel per day. In 2016 a report by the Defence Science Board, a committee of experts, concluded that demand would surge as new power-hungry weapons, like lasers and rail-guns, come to maturity. Vehicles are also moving away from fossil fuels: America expects to have all-electric brigades within the decade. A report by the army in 2018 said that Holos, a prototype mobile nuclear reactor, would be 62% cheaper than using liquid fuel.

  24. IAEA launches project to examine economics of SMRs

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is launching a three-year Coordinated Research Project focused on the economics of small modular reactors (SMRs). The project will provide Member States with an economic appraisal framework for the development and deployment of such reactors.

  25. Holtec SMR to use commercially-available Framatome fuel

    Holtec International has selected Framatome to supply nuclear fuel for its SMR-160 small modular reactor (SMR). The companies have entered into an agreement to enable completion of all necessary engineering to fuel the SMR-160 with Framatome’s commercially available and proven 17×17 GAIA fuel assembly.

  26. ORNL developing 3D-printed nuclear microreactor

    Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are refining their design of a 3D-printed nuclear reactor core, scaling up the additive manufacturing process necessary to build it, and developing methods to confirm the consistency and reliability of its printed components.

  27. Secretariat set up for Saskatchewan SMR deployment

    The government of Saskatchewan has announced the establishment of an office to help in the planning and development of small modular reactors (SMR) in the Canadian province. It said the new office will “coordinate nuclear policy and programme work” within the Climate Change and Adaptation Division in the Ministry of Environment.

  28. Smaller Nuclear Plants May Come With Less Stringent Safety Rules

    …

    The NRC is considering whether to shrink emergency planning and evacuation zones around these newer reactors — from a 10-mile radius to, in some cases, the boundary of the plant site.

    Nuclear energy critics say that would be a mistake.

    “When you’re talking about a reactor that’s never been built or operated, you have to take with a big grain of salt the claims that it’s actually safer or more secure,” says Edwin Lyman at Union of Concerned Scientists.

    He says the industry also wants to use weaker reactor containment shells, and in some cases they don’t want to have to keep an operator at the site.

    Lyman thinks companies should build plants under current rules first. “You have to work out the kinks of these new plants,” he says. “And then over time you might be able to adjust your requirements accordingly. But you don’t do that at the get-go.”

  32. Can Distributed Nuclear Power Address Energy Resilience and Energy Poverty?

    …

    Microreactors, or micro-modular reactors (μMRs), are a radical departure from conventional nuclear designs. Derived from reactor designs originally investigated in the 1950s and 1960s, microreactor designs feature innovations inspired by the drawbacks of conventional designs. While a conventional reactor is 1 GW-electric or larger and a small modular reactor (SMR) is 50–300 MW-electric, μMRs are usually 10 MW-electric or less. This is equivalent in power output to 1–5 wind turbines or a small solar farm. At the extreme end, the Department of Energy and NASA are developing Kilopower for space exploration, with a size as low as 1 kW-electric.

    New fuel types, fission cycles, passive safety features, and other operational changes could enable these ultra-small reactors to improve safety. Their small sizes decrease the heat to surface area of the reactor, allowing for passive cooling instead of the complex active cooling required for LWRs. By using new fuel forms and requiring vastly smaller amounts of uranium, off-site risks from a microreactor accident are limited. The designs used by small reactors are often termed as featuring inherent or passive safety.

    Microreactor proposals may also feature improvements in fuel cycles, reduced water consumption, or less frequent refueling outages. In terms of energy supply, microreactors are likely to be especially resilient. Conventional nuclear reactors are already among the most resilient sources of energy supply.7 However, they face water supply limitations, a concern due to climate change. As microreactors use different processes, they generally do not require significant amounts of water. Further, microreactor designs often incorporate high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) or other features that could reduce refueling frequency and costs.

    Many vendors are now pursuing these designs. A report by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) identifies at least 13 vendors in the United States, including traditional vendors like Westinghouse and BWXT.8 Notably, the existence of so many vendors is unusual for the nuclear industry, offering the promise of design and business model diversity necessary for financial innovation. An emerging industry participant, Oklo, just submitted a Combined License to the NRC, the first non-LWR design to do so. Initial commercial deployment of microreactors is possible by the mid-2020s.

  33. OPG advances towards SMR deployment

    Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has today announced plans to pave the way for the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) by advancing engineering and design work with three developers of grid-scale SMRs: GE Hitachi (GEH), Terrestrial Energy and X-energy. At the same time, GEH has entered into MoUs with five Canadian companies to set up a supply chain for its SMR.

  41. Alberta is to join three other provinces to explore the feasibility of small modular nuclear reactors as a clean energy option.

    Premier Jason Kenney will join Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs in signing a memorandum of understanding today related to exploring the feasibility of small-scale nuclear technology.

    The virtual signing ceremony for the agreement is set to take place Wednesday at 10 a.m. MT.

    In 2019, Ford, Moe and Higgs committed to collaborate on developing small modular reactor technology. The Alberta government announced in August that it would enter into the existing agreement.

  43. UK SMR to start regulatory process this autumn

    The UK SMR consortium, led by Rolls-Royce, has announced the latest design and an increase in power – from 440 MW to 470 MW – of its “compact” nuclear power station. The “refreshed design” features a faceted aesthetic roof; an earth embankment surrounding the power station to integrate with the surrounding landscape; and a more compact building footprint, the British engineering company said.

    —

    NuScale signs MoU on marine-deployed SMR power station

    NuScale Power has signed a second Memorandum of Understanding with Canadian commercial marine nuclear power developer Prodigy Clean Energy to support business opportunities for a marine-deployed nuclear power plant using the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR).

    —

    Lightbridge demonstrates SMR fuel manufacturing process

    Lightbridge Corporation has demonstrated the manufacturing process for surrogate fuel rods for commercial-scale small modular reactors, using an internally developed and patented high-temperature coextrusion process.

    —

    US State Department launches SMR support programme

    The US State Department has announced it is launching the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme, which will provide “capacity-building support to partner countries”. As an initial investment, the department has committed USD5.3 million to support FIRST projects.

    —

    Canadian provinces complete SMR study

    A study into the feasibility of the development and deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Canada, prepared at the request of the leaders of New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan, has concluded the development of SMRs would support domestic energy needs, curb greenhouse gas emissions and position Canada as a global leader in this emerging technology. The province of Alberta has joined the three provinces as a signatory to a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on SMR development.

    —

    Study highlights benefits of SMRs to Canadian industries

    Small modular reactors (SMRs) are well-equipped to drive cost-efficient decarbonisation of Canada’s heavy industries, research conducted by EnviroEconomics and Navius Research on behalf of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA) has concluded. The research studied the economic and climate implications of employing SMRs in Canada’s high-emitting industrial sectors.

    —

    Canadian government invests in SMR project

    The Canadian government has announced investments totalling just over CAD56 million (USD45 million) to support the development of small modular reactor (SMR) research and technology in New Brunswick. The package includes an investment of CAD50.5 million in Moltex Energy Ltd to develop its 300 MW Stable Salt Reactor-Wasteburner (SSR-W). Meanwhile, a new report has underlined the potential economic benefits from SMRs for Canadian provinces.

    —

    GE Hitachi, Fermi Energia extend SMR cooperation

    GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has entered into a teaming agreement with Fermi Energia to support the potential deployment of its BWRX-300 small modular reactor in Estonia. This follows their signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in late 2019.

    —

    Joint venture formed to spur SMR deployment in Sweden

    Uniper Sweden, LeadCold and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) are collaborating to explore the possibility of constructing a demonstration LeadCold SEALER lead-cooled small modular reactor (SMR) at Sweden’s Oskarshamn plant site by 2030. The partners have also applied for funding towards building a non-nuclear prototype at Oskarshamn for testing and verifying materials and technology.

    —

    New Brunswick announces funds for SMR development

    New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has announced a further CAD20 million (USD16 million) of funding towards the next phase of small modular reactor (SMR) development in the province. The province is partnering with ARC Clean Energy Canada Inc, which is developing the ARC-100 advanced SMR.

    —

    OPG plans SMR construction at Darlington

    Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has announced it is resuming planning activities for building new nuclear generating capacity at its Darlington site in Ontario. However, it is now considering the construction of a small modular reactor (SMR) rather than a large conventional reactor, as previously envisaged.

    —

    Rosatom plans first land-based SMR for Russian Far East

    Rosatom plans to build a nuclear power plant equipped with an RITM-200 small modular reactor in the village of Ust-Kuyga, in Yakutia, which is in Far Eastern Russia. The land-based small nuclear plant will be able to supply electricity to isolated power systems or remote areas and consumers.

  46. Is small-scale nuclear energy an option for the N.W.T.?

    …

    The federal government invested $20 million in Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor power plant. The company is designing a small modular reactor which the federal government hopes will help it meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. (Terrestrial Energy)

    …

    Last week, the Green Party of Canada called on the federal government to abandon nuclear energy and invest in renewable energy instead.

    In a press release, MP Elizabeth May said that “small nuclear reactors (SMRs) have no place in any plan to mitigate climate change when cleaner and cheaper alternatives exist.”

    May cited issues with the high costs involved in nuclear energy, the long timeline to rollout, and the environmental risk.

  49. Ontario Power Generation has selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to help build a small modular reactor at its existing Darlington nuclear power plant, the first new reactor on Canadian soil in well over three decades.

    OPG has selected GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 reactor. The utility will make the announcement on Thursday morning, alongside Energy Minister Todd Smith.

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-power-generation-announces-who-will-design-new-modular-reactor/

  50. Developers of small modular reactors hope their time has come

    War, climate worries and oil prices make nuclear power attractive

    …

    It all looks good on paper. But history counsels a degree of scepticism. Previous attempts to build commercial smrs, dating back to the 1960s, have foundered on the twin rocks of economics and technology. The biggest difficulty, says M.V. Ramana, a physicist at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, is that small reactors start at a disadvantage to their bigger cousins. The cost of building a reactor grows more slowly than its power output, he says. Other things being equal, bigger means cheaper.

    Whether mass production can overcome that disadvantage remains to be seen. Nu Scale’s Idaho plant is paid for in part by federal subsidy. But costs have risen, says Dr Ramana, from $3.6bn in 2017 to $6.1bn in 2020. Several of the firm’s commercial partners pulled out of the project in 2020. That is not encouraging for a technology which must compete for low-carbon investment with solar and wind energy, the costs of which continue to fall.

  52. Nuclear waste from small modular reactors

    Significance

    Small modular reactors (SMRs), proposed as the future of nuclear energy, have purported cost and safety advantages over existing gigawatt-scale light water reactors (LWRs). However, few studies have assessed the implications of SMRs for the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The low-, intermediate-, and high-level waste stream characterization presented here reveals that SMRs will produce more voluminous and chemically/physically reactive waste than LWRs, which will impact options for the management and disposal of this waste. Although the analysis focuses on only three of dozens of proposed SMR designs, the intrinsically higher neutron leakage associated with SMRs suggests that most designs are inferior to LWRs with respect to the generation, management, and final disposal of key radionuclides in nuclear waste.

    Abstract

    Small modular reactors (SMRs; i.e., nuclear reactors that produce <300 MWelec each) have garnered attention because of claims of inherent safety features and reduced cost. However, remarkably few studies have analyzed the management and disposal of their nuclear waste streams. Here, we compare three distinct SMR designs to an 1,100-MWelec pressurized water reactor in terms of the energy-equivalent volume, (radio-)chemistry, decay heat, and fissile isotope composition of (notional) high-, intermediate-, and low-level waste streams. Results reveal that water-, molten salt–, and sodium-cooled SMR designs will increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of management and disposal by factors of 2 to 30. The excess waste volume is attributed to the use of neutron reflectors and/or of chemically reactive fuels and coolants in SMR designs. That said, volume is not the most important evaluation metric; rather, geologic repository performance is driven by the decay heat power and the (radio-)chemistry of spent nuclear fuel, for which SMRs provide no benefit. SMRs will not reduce the generation of geochemically mobile 129I, 99Tc, and 79Se fission products, which are important dose contributors for most repository designs. In addition, SMR spent fuel will contain relatively high concentrations of fissile nuclides, which will demand novel approaches to evaluating criticality during storage and disposal. Since waste stream properties are influenced by neutron leakage, a basic physical process that is enhanced in small reactor cores, SMRs will exacerbate the challenges of nuclear waste management and disposal.

  53. But SMR technology is still in its infancy and it isn’t widely used around the world.

    As of 2022, there were only three SMR projects in operation — one each in Russia, China and India — according to the International Energy Agency.

    There are dozens of others under construction or in the design and planning phase — including one at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington nuclear site.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/anti-nuclear-activists-ottawa-1.6821807

  55. The country’s first expected commercial small modular reactor was scrapped by NuScale Power on Wednesday, delivering a major setback to the advanced nuclear industry.

    NuScale and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), a group of local electric utilities that had agreed to purchase power from the project, mutually decided to terminate what was known as the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), according to a news release. NuScale is the only U.S. developer with a design approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a small modular reactor (SMR).

    https://www.eenews.net/articles/nuscale-cancels-first-of-a-kind-nuclear-project-as-costs-surge/

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