Review of SMR projects

The IAEA identifies about 50 projects involving SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) worldwide. In the US, in the nineties Westinghouse launched a SMR project to replace medium-size coal plants. Now the most advanced project is being developed by the Nuscale startup. The Nuscale SMR is an integrated reactor whose cooling is based on natural convection which means no primary pump is necessary. Furthermore its safety systems are also passive. The first Nuscale plant will home 12 SMR units (60 MWe each) that will share the same control room and fuel pool. The Holtec company is studying a SMR project based on PWR technology: the SMR-160 project. A lead industrial model is expected to be built in Ukraine. Canada considers SMR as a technological solutions to replace aging coal plants, to produce heat and electricity for mining activities and to replace diesel generators in remote places. In the UK a generation IV SMR program was launched in 2015. China, that is the first nuclear market in the world has launched a lot of SMR projects, most are based on PWR technology: the ACP100, ACPR100 and CAP-150. The CNP-300 is also a Chinese SMR reactor that has been operating since 1991. Russia studies also small modular reactors, but with the view to install them on large barge. In april 2018 the 'Akademik Lomonosov', a floating barge equipped with 2 KLT-40S reactors was launched. Its final destination is Bilbino, a remote place in north-eastern Siberia. The Korean project of SMR, the SMART reactor, is a pioneer, it was launched at the end of the nineties, it benefits from passive safety systems but it still require a concrete containment building which is deemed unnecessary for modern SMRs. 4. generation SMRs are also studied in different parts of the world. Moltex, Terrestrial Energy, Transatomic Power, or Kairos Power are companies that work on SMR based on molten salt reactor technology while Toshiba and GE Itachi have selected sodium-cooled fast reactor technology to develop SMRs. According to Nuscale the world market for SMRs is estimated to 550 billion dollars by 2035. (A.C.)