Global Expansion of BWRX-300 SMRs: Strategic Alliances and New Deployments
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) and Samsung C&T have formed a strategic alliance to advance deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor in key international markets outside North America. The partnership will focus on developing the supply chain and project delivery solutions to support wider adoption of GVH’s SMR technology, with potential deployment of five BWRX-300 units in Sweden under consideration.
The first BWRX-300 is currently under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade. Once operational, it will become the first small modular reactor in the Western world.
Additional projects are in progress or under review in other regions. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing the Tennessee Valley Authority’s application to construct a BWRX-300 at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In Europe, Orlen Synthos Green Energy has selected Włocławek as the site for Poland’s first SMR, and Sweden’s Vattenfall has down-selected the BWRX-300 as it evaluates new reactor construction near the Ringhals plant site.
Each BWRX-300 unit is designed to generate approximately 300 MW of electricity, enough to power about 300,000 homes, while reducing the complexity and cost typically associated with large-scale nuclear reactors.
Samsung C&T’s nuclear portfolio includes delivery of 12 GW across 10 units, such as the 5.6 GW Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates, along with ongoing work in small modular reactor design and refurbishment projects.