The microreactor will be an "inherently safe" design capable of being transported by the Department of Defense (DOD) and able to deliver 1-5 MWe for a minimum of three years of full power operation.

what is really behind small modular nuclear reactors and why they are poised to disrupt the generation field in the coming decade

The firm has committed to a $13 billion program to refurbish six of the units which will significantly extend their operating lives. It follows that any new construction of SMRs, or anything else such as a molten salt or other type of advanced unit,, will have to get past a significant financial hurdle in terms of verified cost competitiveness for any utility to decide to proceed with it.

A new small modular reactor (SMR) design has been announced by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), EDF, Naval Group and TechnicAtome. The Nuward - with a capacity of 300-400 MWe - has been jointly developed using France's experience in pressurised water reactors (PWRs).

The race for investor commitments of cash and eventual market share among developers of small modular reactors (SMRs) globally is on. Developers in the U.S., Canada, U.K., South Korea, Russia, and China, and in other nations are pursuing their technology visions for a variety of designs concepts including light water (LWR), molten salt, HTGR, and other GEN IV types.

WNN - Construction of the Iter fusion reactor, being built at Cadarache in the south of France, is now 50% complete, the Iter Organisation has announced. The reactor - construction of which began in 2010 - is scheduled to achieve first plasma in 2025.