An energy revolution is coming from SMR. Small modular reactors (SMR) are emerging as the major power source for everything all over the world. SMR is set to become the energy of choice for grid electricity, EV charging, campus power grids, industrial power, and the manufacture of hydrogen. Advanced nuclear reactors are set to become essential devices for generating all electricity and power.
SMR devices each provide up to 300 MW(e), enough energy to replace an existing coal plant.
The devices are small:
SMR Description
Use - Generate electricity from a steam turbine generator in the same manner a coal plant functions, but without any carbon emissions.
Value - Provide non-carbon, energy-dense electricity generation.
Renewable - Supplement wind and solar energy with continuous flow for the grid.
Small – These are a fraction of the size of a large nuclear power reactor.
Modular – Components are factory-made and factory-assembled.
Single Unit- An SMR, once factory assembled, comes off the assembly line as a unit.
Transportable - An SMR can be transported from the factory to a permanent location.
Reactors – Harness nuclear fission to generate heat to produce energy through a turbine.
Safety - Safety ensured with many nuclear design aspects and uranium fuel enhancements
Proven - Used in submarines, on ships, in hospitals, and to replace coal plants.
· Benefits of SMRs are inherently linked to the nature of the manufacturing process. Assembly line manufacturing creates efficient building of SMRs. As units are made in volume, the cost of manufacture decreases. Small and modular energy-manufactured units lend themselves to scale. With volume manufacture comes economies of scale.
Given the smaller footprint, SMRs can be sited in locations suitable for replacing coal power plants that do so much damage to the environment. The ability to replace decommissioned coal plants with a non-carbon energy source makes SMR desirable.
SMRs can be manufactured, shipped, and installed on-site - prefabricated. Units replicated from a single design become much more affordable than large, custom-built power reactors. Smaller units are more efficient to install than large power reactors. Custom-designed large reactors placed in a particular location, are a very expensive way to build a system. Large power reactors add cost due to construction delays. SMRs offer savings in cost and low construction time. They can be deployed incrementally, one unit at a time, to match increasing energy demand.
The SMR safety designs can be replicated by including known modules and using them over and over again. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) provide energy density.
SMR complements renewable energy. SMR, small modular reactors, have the advantage of continuous energy flow. SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors. Renewable energy is discontinuous. When the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow, no power is emitted from the renewable systems. When the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow, the continuous flow of energy from the SMR is a significant complement to renewable energy.
See the WinterGreen Research market research study:
Key Words
SMR
Small modular reactors
Advanced nuclear reactors
up to 300 MW(e)