US-based nuclear power company NuScale Power has received the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certification for the design of its small modular reactor (SMR).
The company’s power module is said to be the first SMR design to be certified by the NRC and is the seventh reactor design to be approved for use in the US.
The regulator’s final rule in the Federal Register is effective 21 February 2023 and provides a new clean power source to reduce carbon emissions across the US.
NRC accepted the company’s application for SMR design certification in March 2018 and issued its final technical review in August 2020.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) said that the final rulemaking allows utilities to reference NuScale’s SMR design during their application process for a combined license.
NuScale Power president and chief executive officer John Hopkins said: “We are thrilled to announce the historic rulemaking from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for NuScale’s small modular reactor design, and we thank the Department of Energy (DOE) for their support throughout this process.
“The DOE has been an invaluable partner with a shared common goal – to establish an innovative and reliable carbon-free source of energy here in the US.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership and working with the DOE to bring the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project to completion.”
NuScale designed the advanced light-water SMR with each power module capable of generating 50MW of green electricity.
The company’s VOYGR SMR power plant would host up to 12 factory-built power modules that measure around one-third of the size of a large-scale reactor.
Each power module leverages processes such as convection and gravity, to passively cool the reactor without needing additional water, power, or operator action.
NuScale is currently looking to enable each module to generate up to 77MW, where the NRC is expected to review their application this year.
DOE offered more than $600m in funding since 2014 to support the design, licensing, and siting of NuScale’s VOYGR SMR power plant and other concepts.
It is currently working with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) to build a six-module NuScale VOYGR demonstration plant at Idaho National Laboratory.
The first module is expected to be active by 2029 with full operations expected in 2030.
