Origin Nuclear, a subsidiary of Canada’s Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and SGE UK, the UK project company of Polish small modular reactor developer SGE, have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture that would establish a UK-based nuclear operating company. The company would operate SGE’s planned fleet of 14 GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors across three UK sites.

Origin Nuclear would support licensing, commissioning and operational readiness of the reactors, and its responsibilities would also include plant operations and centralised support services across the fleet.

SGE UK, previously called SGE, announced its plans in July, with the first site hosting six 300MW units and two further sites to follow, and it envisages the first unit starting commercial operation in 2034.

The programme is built around a standardised fleet, allowing the same technology, operating practices and expertise to be applied across all three sites.

SGE UK said: “Together, the reactors would have a generating capacity of 4.2 GW, providing enough low-carbon electricity to meet approximately 11% of UK power demand, equivalent to the needs of almost 8M homes, for at least 60 years.”

SGE chief executive Rafał Kasprów said: “Securing an operating partner is one of the most important decisions in developing a nuclear project, and with Origin Nuclear and its parent company OPG, we have a partner backed by more than a half century of nuclear experience and direct involvement in the first BWRX-300 project in Canada.”

Kasprów added: “Just as importantly, it brings us closer to establishing a long-term operating model that can support BWRX-300 projects across Europe.”

The programme is backed by an international delivery team of SGE, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Samsung C&T, Laing O’Rourke, Aecon, Fermi Development and Etara. SGE says it has invested £50 million to reach the application stage, and describes the 4.2GW fleet as privately financed.

The structural driver is the licensing, commissioning and operational readiness work that precedes any reactor start-up, for which SGE UK describes Origin Nuclear as an “experienced operating partner.”

SGE’s proposal is currently moving through the Project Deep Dive stage of the Advanced Nuclear Framework, and the joint venture has yet to be formed. For the sector, an operating-company model would place operation of a standardised SMR fleet in a single UK entity.

Source: newcivilengineer.com / theenergyst.com / world-nuclear-news.org