Bechtel and BWX Technologies have teamed up to develop BWXT’s Generation III++ small modular reactor, Bechtel said on Monday.
The collaboration aims to create the first commercially viable small modular reactor.
BWXT’s mPower reactor has an estimated capacity of 195 megawatts and features a compact reactor size that could be shipped as a completely assembled machine via railways, safety features in line with post-Fukushima regulations and standardized fuel assemblies utilizing small amounts of enriched uranium at approximately 5 percent or lower, Bechtel said.
“This technology holds great promise, and we are firmly committed to doing everything we can to bring it to market,” Ty Troutman, general manager of Bechtel’s nuclear power business unit, said. “It’s one of the keys to solving the problem of replacing older power plants without relying on fossil fuels or the intermittent availability of solar and wind. Pound for pound, small modular reactors can deliver more 24/7 electricity than any other low-carbon alternative energy technology.”
