NuScale SMR plants become VOYGR

"NuScale is on the frontier of innovation in energy and the name VOYGR demonstrates that NuScale is changing the world by creating an energy source that is smarter, cleaner, safer, and cost competitive," the company said.

The flagship VOYGR-12 scalable power plant design can accommodate up to 12 NuScale Power Modules for a total gross output of 924 MWe. NuScale also offers the four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe) and six-module VOYGR-6 (462 MWe).

The NuScale Power Module is a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single unit, generating 77 MWe. In September 2020, it became the first SMR to receive design approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

UAMPS earlier this year said it expects to submit a combined licence application for the Carbon Free Power Project - currently envisaged as a six-module plant - to the NRC in 2024. The plant is to be located on a site at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Idaho National Laboratory.

"We are dedicated to changing the power that changes the world, and the name VOYGR represents our groundbreaking plant technology that is setting a new standard for clean, reliable, and safe power," NuScale Power Chairman and CEO John Hopkins said.

Training centre

NuScale has now opened a third university-based centre to provide training and outreach opportunities through simulated, real-world nuclear power plant operation scenarios. The NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center, opened in collaboration with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, is at the Center for Advanced Small Modular and Micro Reactors located in College Station, Texas, and uses state-of-the-art computer modelling within a simulation of the control room of a 12-unit NuScale power plant control.

Previous E2 Centers were opened at Oregon State University, in November 2020, and at the University of Idaho, in August 2021. The centres are supported by a 2019 DOE grant to broaden the understanding of advanced nuclear technology in a control room setting.