Westinghouse expands SMR study team

Westinghouse will work with UK shipbuilder Cammell Laird as well as the country’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) on a study to explore potential design efficiencies to reduce the lead times of its small modular reactor. 

The reactor vendor has already worked with NAMRC on a study that concluded the reactor pressure vessels for its SMR design could be made in Britain - a potentially important element in its offer to government in hope of winning a competition towards SMR demonstration. The new study will be a continuation, said Westinghouse.

New to the project is Cammell Laird, a shipbuilder based in Liverpool that has been increasing its involvement in the UK's nuclear sector for several years. In 2010 it agreed to work with Nuvia towards manufacture of modules for decommissioning and for new build, and in 2011 the pair were joined by Ansaldo Nucleare of Italy, which is experienced in AP1000 work. This is in addition to Cammell Laird's ongoing work in offshore oil, gas and wind.

The Westinghouse SMR is a 225 MWe integral pressurized water reactor design with all primary components located inside the reactor vessel. It uses the passive safety functionality developed for the company's AP1000 reactor, currently being built at sites in China and the USA.

Plans for early deployment of SMRs in Britain follow the publication in 2014 of a feasibility report by a consortium led by the National Nuclear Laboratory into the potential impact of the technology on the UK energy sector and supply chain.

The government is in the late stages of a competition to choose an SMR that offers the best value to the country, the prize being at least £250 million over five years for research. NuScale and Rolls-Royce are also known to be participating.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News