US Westinghouse has pulled out of the UK’s small modular reactor (SMR) design competition, according to the UK The Telegraph.
Earlier in April, three of the four competition finalists in Great British Nuclear’s (GBN’s) small modular reactor (SMR) competition submitted their final tenders. The four finalists received an Invitation to Submit Final Tender (ISFT) in February – GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International, Holtec Britain, Rolls-Royce SMR, and Westinghouse Electric Company.
GEH (part of GE Vernova) proposed its BWRX-300 boiling water reactor; Holtec proposed its SMR-300 – a 300 MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR); the Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe PWR; and the Westinghouse AP300 is a 300 MWe/900 MWt PWR. Westinghouse, however, failed to submit its final tender.
GBN was expected to announce two winners this summer with bidders told to prepare to build three to four mini reactors each. The winners will be awarded contracts to co-fund further design development as well as the necessary regulatory, environmental and site-approvals before a final investment decision is taken in 2029. The contracts are expected to total £20bn ($26.7bn) – £10bn each if two companies are selected.
However, The Telegraph reported in February that the Government was considering awarding only one contract as Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor “is struggling to balance the books as weak economic growth makes it harder to meet her self-imposed ‘fiscal rules’ for borrowing.
According to The Telegraph, Westinghouse did not deny it had withdrawn but declined to give its reasons. “One industry source suggested the company had baulked at the commercial offer made by the Government.”
A spokesman from the UK Energy Department said: “Great British Nuclear is driving forward its SMR competition for UK deployment. It has now received final tenders, which it will evaluate ahead of taking final decisions this spring.”
There is growing concern that the economics of SMRs could prove even hard to justify at the high costs for the initial four units. None of the bidders has built their designs which are still in development. All SMRs in the GBN competition will be first-of-a-kind units (FOAK), which will push up costs.
Commenting on the issue, Neutron Bytes noted: “Most estimates are that economies of scale based on factory production of SMRs, promised by all four vendors, only kick in when order books come in “fleet mode,” e.g. by the dozen or more. It follows that even £10bn could be insufficient to cover the costs of four units any of the three 300 MWe offerings based on their status as FOAK projects.”
It added: “Splitting the difference for the GBN competition, e.g. awarding one winner £10bn, keeps the SMR initiative alive, but does nothing to promote long-term “fleet mode” production of SMRs which the UK nuclear industry points out is the only way to achieve economies of scale with factory production of SMRs.”
