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Small modular nuclear reactors should be put through the Generic Design Assessment and developed on sites in Britain to complement the construction of a new generation of full-scale nuclear power stations, the IMechE has said.
Launching a position paper on the opportunities from such small reactor designs, known as SMRs, the institution said they offered a different approach, employing fewer resources, more favourable investment prospects and a smaller footprint. Developing the technology en masse would complement nuclear new build on the former British Energy sites now owned by EDF, at Moorside near Sellafield, and at the Wylfa and Oldbury sites owned by Horizon Nuclear Power.
The design assessment for SMRs was likely to be as time-consuming as that for Areva’s EPR, Hitachi’s ABWR and Westinghouse’s AP1000 but they would be much quicker to construct, said Tim Fox, head of energy and climate change at the IMechE. The investment risk would be lower, he said. There would be a need for a short-term incentive for reactors to be developed, but ultimately the commercial appeal would outweigh the need for subsidies or loan guarantees, he said.
The SMRs could be built on sites where there were existing nuclear sites. The IMechE said the existing nuclear-licensed site at Trawsfynydd should be made available as a location for the building or demonstration testing of an SMR.
Such reactors could be used in the developing world to enable countries to develop nuclear power without having to construct GW-scale power stations, said Fox. The UK had an opportunity to develop a supply chain to bring such stations to developing countries, in terms of engineering expertise and regulatory know-how.
The IMechE has identified SMR nuclear reactors that could be deployed in Britain, including the NuScale 45MW design, Babcock &Wilcox’s 180MW mPower, and Westinghouse’s SMR, which has an output of 225MW.
“The engineering capability on large-scale reactor development will not be drained by the opportunity here. They both need an understanding of nuclear capability and the regulatory landscape. The manufacturing of modular reactors is different. There may be some strain on the Office of Nuclear Regulation in terms of being able to cope with a larger volume of work,” said Fox.
“The next step is for the government to build SMRs into the pathway for nuclear new build in the UK. The opportunity should be recognised,” he said.
“The second step is to make industry aware that the GDA is open and available to submissions on SMRs. The government’s role is to build this technology into its strategy.”