General Electric: GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and BWXT Canada Enter into Agreement to Support BWRX-300 Design and Commercialization

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and BWXT Canada Ltd. (BWXT Canada) have entered into a teaming agreement to cooperate on engineering and procurement to support the design, manufacturing and commercialization of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR).

Through the agreement, if the BWRX-300 is selected for deployment at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington Nuclear Generation Station, BWXT Canada could provide detailed engineering and design for manufacturability for BWRX-300 equipment and components and ultimately could supply certain key reactor components for the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Canada. The agreement builds on a Memorandum of Understanding that GEH and BWXT Canada signed in June 2020.

“This agreement with BWXT Canada is a significant milestone in our efforts to build a Canadian supply chain to advance the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Ontario,” said Jay Wileman, President & CEO, GEH. “The ability of BWXT Canada to manufacture these key reactor components could help establish Ontario as a global manufacturing hub for our highly engineered equipment.”

“We are pleased GEH recognizes that our unique engineering and manufacturing capabilities are readily adaptable to support deployment of the BWRX-300 in Canada,” said John MacQuarrie, President of BWXT Canada. “Entering into this relationship with GEH provides BWXT Canada with the opportunity to participate in the deployment of BWRX-300 SMRs around the world.”

The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GEH’s U.S. NRC-certified ESBWR. Through dramatic and innovative design simplification, GEH projects the BWRX-300 will require significantly less capital cost per MW when compared to other SMR designs.

By leveraging the existing ESBWR design certification, utilizing the licensed and proven GNF2 fuel design, and incorporating proven components and supply chain expertise, GEH believes the BWRX-300 can become the lowest-risk, most cost-competitive and quickest to market SMR.