More organisations participate in OPEN100 project

EIC says the OPEN100 online platform serves as a repository for engineering schematics, construction schedules and financial models, establishing a common framework to align technology start-ups, engineering firms, utilities and capital firms. The design "prioritises standardisation and speed of delivery, right-sizing project scope to fit today's capital, infrastructure and supply-chain constraints".

The OPEN100 project includes a detailed engineering design of a nuclear power plant based on a pressurised water reactor. It includes process engineering design, electrical design, preliminary equipment specifications, CAD modelling and site layout. This engineering data is downloadable directly from the website for public use. Future versions ae expected to include neutronics analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, detailed equipment specifications, structural design and environmental impact assessments.

"After our February launch, we experienced an outpouring of support and an influx of interest to participate," said EIC's director of Stakeholder Relations Michelle Brechtelsbauer. "We formed strategic collaborations enabling OPEN100 to incorporate institutional knowledge from the best-in-class laboratories, power plant developers, and nuclear industry specialists around the world."

EIC has now announced an expanded cohort of organisations actively collaborating to support OPEN100. The OPEN100 project now highlights contributing organisations and experts, detailed engineering schematics, construction schedules, and an interactive economics dashboard.

Collaborators in the OPEN100 project include: Framatome, Studsvik, the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory, Siemens, Pillsbury, the Electric Power Research Institute, as well as the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

"Each organisation brings unique expertise and a shared commitment to the simple principle that nuclear energy should be affordable and accessible," Brechtelsbauer said. "The diversity of skills is noteworthy, with several organisations advising on aspects of core design, equipment vendors providing cost modelling, engineering firms advising on component integration, and others assisting with activities that range from construction scheduling to regulatory compliance."

OPEN100's engineering files are now accompanied by a detailed construction timeline and an interactive economics dashboard, each providing greater transparency for project stakeholders.

EIC says OPEN100's design prioritises supply chain standardisation and speed of delivery. "With OPEN100, we aim to encourage the growth of a robust developer industry, one that relies on a set of common standards that taps into an existing supply chain and enables fast-tracked licensing," said Brechtelsbauer. "In this way, we can provide the world with a clear pathway to a sustainable, low cost, zero-carbon future."

Energy Impact Center is a Washington-DC based research institute focused on nuclear energy deployment as a means to rapidly decarbonise global energy production and increase access to clean, affordable power.