A Canadian fabricator has been chosen as a partner for the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor project, which aims to develop and deploy SMRs to generate 470 MW of low-carbon energy, to power up to a million homes. Ontario-based BWX Technologies Inc. is now contracted to provide a detailed design for a nuclear steam generator, and has a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce SMR to support future collaboration on the development of the program.
BWXT's nuclear steam generators are large-scale, critical components for the process of transferring heat from a primary reactor coolant loop to a secondary water loop, to create steam for generating electricity. It has supplied over 300 steam generators to nuclear power plants around the world over the past six decades.
Last year the Ontario firm announced a $57-million expansion of its Cambridge, Ontario, manufacturing plant, to increase capacity “significantly” and improve productivity, which it stated will result in more than 200 long-term jobs for skilled workers, engineers, and support staff.
Rolls-Royce was selected to build the U.K.’s SMRs by Great British Nuclear, an agent of the government’s Dept. for Energy Security and Net Zero, designated to design, build, and operate nuclear-energy generating plants. It’s also set to install three gigawatts of nuclear power capacity in Czech Republic.
By contracting program suppliers Rolls aims to achieve affordability, scalability, and faster deployment of the SMRs through modular, factory-built components and a generic design that can be used at multiple sites.
“Sourcing these critical components from world-leading suppliers is part of our ‘designed for delivery’ approach - combining modularization and proven nuclear technology - significantly reducing cost, construction time and removing project risk,” according to Ruth Todd, Rolls-Royce SMR’s operations and supply chain director.
Under the MOU, Rolls-Royce is seeking to procure steam generators for multiple reactor units, and to establish a localization plan for future manufacturing work and other activities to support the Rolls-Royce SMR deployment globally.
