General Electricals: GE Hitachi Announces Large Hiring Plan to Support Worldwide Deployment of Reactor Technology

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today announced a major expansion to its Wilmington operations through continued job growth, further strengthening its capabilities for the deployment of its small modular and advanced reactor technologies as the demand for carbon-free energy generation increases globally.

GEH President & CEO Jay Wileman announced plans to grow the GEH workforce by approximately 500 jobs over five years. These new employees will support the future of advanced nuclear growth including the commercial deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor.

“We are proud to have hired more than 250 people this year to be part of the team that is advancing the deployment of our carbon-free energy generation technologies,” Wileman said. “These new, high-paying jobs, will position us to lead the nuclear energy industry into the future, help customers meet climate goals and have a significant impact on the region’s economy.”

There is growing global interest in the BWRX-300. GEH has been selected by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) as the technology partner for the Darlington New Nuclear Project. GEH is working with OPG to deploy a BWRX-300 at the Darlington site that could be complete as early as 2028. In August 2022, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced that it has entered into an agreement with GEH to support planning and preliminary licensing for potential deployment of a BWRX-300 at the Clinch River Site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA is developing a construction permit application and is targeting submittal to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in late 2023.

In June 2022 SaskPower announced that it selected the BWRX-300 for potential deployment in Saskatchewan in the mid-2030s. Synthos Green Energy and its partners desire to deploy at least 10 BWRX-300s in Poland by the early 2030s. GEH has memoranda of understanding or other agreements in place with companies in the U.K., Sweden, Czech Republic and Estonia.

Advanced nuclear technologies like the BWRX-300 are a key pillar of GE’s energy transition leadership. In addition to helping customers achieve carbon-emission goals, the BWRX-300 has been designed to achieve construction and operating costs that are substantially lower than traditional nuclear power generation technologies. Specifically, the BWRX-300 leverages a unique combination of a new, patented safety breakthrough, proven components, the licensing basis of the U.S. NRC-certified ESBWR and an existing, licensed fuel design. This unique combination positions GEH to deliver an innovative, carbon-free baseload power generation source this decade.