Summer BULLETIN Preview

From Lab to Market: How NuScale Power is Primed to Energize the World
An Interview with NuScale Co-Founded and Co-Designer Dr. Jose Reyes

The BULLETIN first reported on NuScale Power’s small modular reactor (SMR) in its special edition winter 2015 issue, “Thinking Nuclear.” The article, An Overview of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): Diverse Technology for Tomorrow’s Energy, written by A. Thomas Roberts of MPR Associates, Inc., did just that – provided an overview of the different types of SMR designs, including NuScale’s.

This summer’s cover story features an in-depth interview with Dr. Jose Reyes, co-founder of co-designer of the NuScale Power Module™. Dr. Reyes describes the science behind NuScale’s innovative design and its journey from “big idea” to groundbreaking progress with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Following is an excerpt from the interview:

On December 31, 2016, the power generation industry reached a historic milestone when the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received its first-ever small modular reactor (SMR) design certification application (DCA). The applicant: NuScale Power.™ 

The NuScale Power Module™ is an Integral Pressurized Water Reactor (IPWR) based on light water reactor technology. The concept behind NuScale’s SMRs is to commercialize power plants that will be modular and scalable in 50 MWe (gross) increments. The reactor, steam generator, pressurizer, and containment are integrated into a single, self-contained module that operates independently within a multi-module configuration of up to 12 modules, all monitored and operated from a single control room.

 . . . .NuScale has spent hundreds of millions of dollars preparing to submit the design certification application to the NRC. The tremendous amount of work behind the project is reflected in the application itself, which comprised nearly 12,000 pages of technical content through the efforts of more than 800 NuScale staff.

“There is a great deal of information required to demonstrate that a nuclear plant is safe,” Dr. Reyes explained. “It’s a challenge, and the first step is recognizing how much work it takes to move a design forward. A nuclear startup is not for the faint-hearted. It costs quite a bit of money and takes a lot of dedication.”

NuScale’s persistence paid off. In March 2017, the NRC notified NuScale that it completed review of the application and found that it met NRC requirements. NuScale’s design certification application has officially been docketed for review.

Read the full story in the summer issue, coming in July.

Also included in this issue: Hydrogen Cracking; NBIC Reference Guide for the new Part 4; General Meeting Highlights, Power Boilers: Blowdown or Blowoff, and more!

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