Pre-licensing milestone for eVinci

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Principal Design Criteria - or PDCs - define how each part of the reactor's structures, systems, and components will function, and ensure that the design conforms to design bases outlined in US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. Approval of these criteria provides a clear path to licensing the eVinci microreactor for deployment as well as simplifying and streamlining the licensing process for customers, Westinghouse said.

Jon Ball, president of eVinci Technologies at Westinghouse, said the NRC approval gives customers confidence that the microreactor can be licensed for deployment in a highly streamlined and repeatable manner. "This will allow customers to take advantage of the eVinci microreactor's small size and transportability to rapidly deploy when and where they need them for cost-competitive and resilient power," he said.

The eVinci is a heatpipe-cooled microreactor which can produce up to 5MWe with a 15MWth core design. The TRISO-fuelled reactor core is designed to run for eight or more full-power years before refuelling, and the factory-built and assembled reactor can be shipped in a container to provide versatile, scalable energy for a variety of applications.

Westinghouse is currently engaged in pre-application activities with the NRC to support the eventual licensing of the eVinci microreactor. In December, the regulator approved the reactor's Advanced Logic System Version 2 instrumentation and control platform, making it the first microreactor with an NRC-approved I&C system.

_{(Video: Westinghouse)}