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Darlington Nuclear Plant Will Get a BWRX-300 SMR as GE Hitachi Bags Lucrative OPG Selection

December 3, 2021

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will build a GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Darlington Nuclear Station in Clarington, Ontario, marking a major triumph for the nuclear vendor in a stiff competition for the much-watched utility-scale project.

OPG announced the selection of the GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR over competitors X-energy and Terrestrial Energy in a live stream on Dec. 2. The utility said it will now work with GE Hitachi on the SMR engineering, design, planning, preparing the licensing and permitting materials, and performing site preparation activities. The companies are targeting a “mutual goal of constructing Canada’s first commercial, grid-scale SMR, projected to be completed as early as 2028.”

Site preparation, which will include “installation of the necessary construction services,” is slated to begin in the spring of 2022, pending appropriate approvals. OPG additionally said it will apply to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a License to Construct the SMR by the end of 2022.…

SMRs May Replace Polish Coal; GE Hitachi in Fuel Supply Pact

September 27, 2021

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Poland’s push for nuclear power could include repurposing of coal-fired power plants with small modular reactor (SMR) technology from NuScale Power. NuScale on Sept. 23 announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Polish companies, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. (KGHM), and Piela Business Engineering (PBE), to explore how NuScale’s technology could be used to provide electricity and heat for KGHM’s industrial processes along with cleaner power for the country.

NuScale then later Thursday said it had signed an MOU with Oklahoma-based energy company Getka Group (Getka) and Poland’s UNIMOT S.A. (UNIMOT) that also looks at deploying NuScale’s SMRs, again to repurpose Polish coal-fired power plants. Getka is an integrated energy company providing construction, and delivery of petroleum, refined products, and alternative energy. UNIMOT is a multi-energy capital group that offers its wholesale and retail customers fuel products, gas and electricity, including renewable energy.

Poland, which relies heavily on coal, was the only member of the European Union not to commit to climate neutrality by 2050 when the EU set the target in 2019.…

GE Hitachi: Nuclear Costs, Innovation Must Be a Pivotal Focus for Carbon-Free Future

June 24, 2021

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The post GE Hitachi: Nuclear Costs, Innovation Must Be a Pivotal Focus for Carbon-Free Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Nuclear energy’s future as a critical pillar in a decarbonized world will depend on its adaptability to rapid change, but the sector must focus on costs, certainty of outcome, reliability, and experience to cement its role beyond the transition, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) President and CEO Jay Wileman told POWER in an exclusive interview.

While the world’s existing nuclear fleet of more than 400 GW already plays an important energy security role—providing affordable and stable power that is largely independent of fuel market price fluctuations—an expansion will be necessary to bolster climate-conscious energy goals. But the challenge is multi-faceted, Wileman said.

First, it will require keeping online the world’s installed base of 450 reactors, both by maximizing their lifetime output and diversifying their commercial applications beyond power generation. “If you lost that installed base, you’re setting yourselves decades backward in your path toward getting to the carbon goals,” he said.…

GE Hitachi Advances Collaboration to Bolster BWRX-300 SMR Deployment in Estonia

March 8, 2021

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The post GE Hitachi Advances Collaboration to Bolster BWRX-300 SMR Deployment in Estonia appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Estonian firm Fermi Energia OÜ have entered into a teaming agreement to support potential deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) in the Baltic country.

The agreement between the technology company and the firm established in 2019 by nuclear industry professionals comes two years after the companies inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to examine the economic feasibility of deploying a 300-MWe BWRX-300 SMR in Estonia.

“Through the teaming agreement GEH expects to support Fermi Energia in key areas such as licensing, human resources and supply chain development as well as continued development of the information and analysis needed for potential deployment of the BWRX-300 in Estonia,” GEH said on March 8.

The development is another notable step for Fermi Energia, which has conducted feasibility studies for several SMR technologies along with the BWRX-300. These include Moltex Energy’s 300-MWe Stable Salt Reactor (SSR), NuScale’s small light water reactor modules; Terrestrial’s IMSR-400, a 195-MWe Generation IV nuclear technology that uses a molten fluoride salt; and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp.’s …

Hitachi Absorbs ABB Power Grids in New $10B Joint Venture

July 2, 2020

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The post Hitachi Absorbs ABB Power Grids in New $ 10B Joint Venture appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which already has a volume of about $ 10 billion, is expected to provide financial muscle to support ambitious projects and new business opportunities as the sector embraces decentralization and digitalization.

Japanese technology conglomerate Hitachi holds a 80.1% ($ 6.85 billion) stake in Hitachi ABB Power Grids, while Zurich-based ABB will hold the remaining 19.9% stake. ABB also holds a pre-defined option to exit the retained 19.9% shareholding three years after closing, and it is likely it will be bought out by Hitachi, which has said it will consider acquiring ABB’s share to make it a wholly owned subsidiary after 2023.

But for now, Hitachi ABB Power Grids will be headquartered in Switzerland and employ approximately 36,000 people in 90 countries.…

Hitachi Exiting MHPS; MHI Will be Venture’s Sole Owner

December 18, 2019

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The post Hitachi Exiting MHPS; MHI Will be Venture’s Sole Owner appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Japanese technology conglomerate Hitachi will withdraw from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS), a joint venture it established in 2014 with another power equipment giant, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), over a dispute stemming from construction of two massive defect-ridden coal plants in South Africa.

Under a Dec. 18-announced settlement reached by MHI and Hitachi, Hitachi will pay MHI 200 billion yen ($ 1.8 billion) in March, and transfer its 35% stake in MHPS to MHI, which currently holds the remaining 65%. Hitachi will also request the Japanese Commercial Arbitration Association, the entity tasked with deciding the dispute, to immediately stop the progress of arbitration, while MHI will do the same after it receives Hitachi’s payment and shares.

The extent to which the changes will impact MHPS’s operations are unclear. Hitachi suggested it will withdraw completely from management from MHPS, though it will continue to work with MHI on maintenance services of existing thermal power plants.…