Nuclear

NuScale Power sets sights on Asian SMR market

NuScale Power Corporation plans to invest in the Philippines after a meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Washington D.C.
NuScale Power sets sights on Asian SMR market
(Image: Office of the President, Philippines)

SMR technology firm NuScale Power Corporation has expressed interest in rolling out SMR technology in the Philippines after a meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Washington DC.

In the meeting, NuScale Power representatives confirmed plans to conduct a study to locate a site in the Philippines to develop a small nuclear power system.

According to President Marcos, the Philippines has a power supply shortfall and small modular reactor technology could help ease the situation.

“We need everything. We just have to have everything and this new technology is something,” the President said.

NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology was developed by nuclear scientists supported by the US government and is currently the only technology to receive design approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Among the NuScale officials present in the meeting were Clayton Scott, executive vice president for business, and Cheryl Collins, director for sales. Also present were Speaker Martin Romualdez, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr., Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil, and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez.

NuScale’s ambitions in Korea

The Philippines announcement follows NuScale’s recent signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Korea’s Doosan Enerbility and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM).

The agreements aim to strengthen collaboration between the three parties specifically in the areas of marketing, technical support, and further development of a global supply chain.

Doosan and NuScale also plan to strengthen cooperation to deploy NuScale VOYGR plants globally.

Commenting on the collaboration, a source from Doosan Enerbility said: “Today’s event garnered worldwide attention as it was where South Korea and the United States proclaimed the vision of partnering up to jointly target the global SMR market. It looks like the expectations for greater synergy and market growth is what attracted all these leading companies here from both countries.”

KEXIM and NuScale also signed an MoU in which they agreed to financial cooperation in support of deploying NuScale VOYGR plants. According to NuScale, KEXIM’s assistance will support the deployment of VOYGR plants worldwide and utilize a Korean supply chain when deploying NuScale plants in the Asian market.

(Originally published by Power Engineering International)

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