Holtec and Hyundai E&C target 10 GW SMR fleet after Palisades

Wednesday, 26 February 2025

The Palisades SMR-300 project, announced in 2023, targets 2030 for first commercial operation, with Holtec saying that USD50 million has been invested so far in site selection and development activities, such as detailed environmental studies and soil borings.

Holtec has been developing deployment plans for its small modular reactors (SMRs) in various countries, including for up to 5 GW of capacity in the UK and for multiple units in Ukraine. It says the Palisades project will become the "global reference point for deploying this next generation nuclear technology".

Holtec said it remains on target to start the formal US Nuclear Regulatory Commission construction permitting process early in 2026, and has now also signed a wider partnership agreement with Hyundai E&C to enable the rapid scaling of the SMR-300 programme following the first-of-a-kind project at Palisades "to build a 10 GW fleet of SMR-300s in North America through the 2030s".

Hyundai E&C said it planned to complete site design in the second quarter of 2025 and begin construction "around the end of this year".

Kris Singh, Holtec CEO, said: "Hyundai E&C has the most distinguished credentials as a constructor of nuclear power plants ... our own vertically integrated supply capability and a world-class project management organisation, which has established a solid track record of completing numerous complex projects around the world without cost overruns, gives us the confidence that our Mission 2030 will be realised in full measure. We should also recognise our long-term ally and the third pillar of our SMR coalition, Mitsubishi Electric, whose state-of-the-art control system will be deployed in the SMR-300 plants."

Hyundai E&C CEO Han-Woo Lee said: "Hyundai E&C has established its US subsidiary, Hyundai America Inc, and has been making diversified investments in US power projects and SMR-300 technology. To ensure the successful completion of this project, we will work closely with the US government and leading local companies to build a systematic supply chain, create and develop high-quality jobs in the US, and develop strategies for mutual growth with local communities, ultimately pioneering a new era in the global SMR industry."

The background
 

Holtec has been developing its SMR unit since 2011. The SMR-300 is a pressurised water reactor producing around 300 MW of electrical power or 1050 MW of thermal power for process applications, and the company says it has undergone several design evolutions, the most recent of which is the incorporation of forced flow capability overlayed on gravity-driven flow in the plant's primary system.

The Palisades nuclear power plant was shut down by Entergy in May 2022 after 50 years in service. The 805 MWe (net) reactor was defuelled that June, and its sale to Holtec was completed later that same month with decommissioning envisaged for completion in 2041.

However Holtec then announced plans to apply for federal funding - which it later got - to enable it to reopen the plant. It also signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Michigan non-profit Wolverine Power Cooperative to purchase two-thirds of the power generated from a reopened Palisades, with Wolverine's partner Hoosier Energy, which supplies member electric cooperatives across Indiana and Illinois, purchasing the balance. Holtec says it hopes to restart the plant before the end of 2025.