Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     This is a continuation of a list of the top five companies currently working small modular reactors (SMRs).
TerraPower
     Nuclear innovation company TerraPower was started in 2008 by Bill Gates and other private sector lenders. The company is now recognized as an international leader in the SMR space. It has secured eighty million dollars in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to support the design and development of its next-generation Natirum nuclear reactor. In 2021, TerraPower selected Kemmerer, Wyoming as its preferred site for the construction of its advanced nuclear reactor demonstration plant. The Natrium reactor is one of just two competitively selected advanced reactor demonstration projects (ARDP) by the DoE.
Westinghouse Electric Company
     Westinghouse Electric Company moved to the forefront of the nuclear technology industry with its transportable eVinciTM micro reactor. The eVinci is more of a nuclear battery than a traditional nuclear reactor. The high-temperature heat pipe reactor can generate five megawatts of electricity and as much as thirteen megawatts of heat from its fifteen-megawatt solid thermal core. The mobile nuclear power plant draws its power from its advanced heat pipe technology and unique core design. The self-regulating heat pipes allow passive heat transfer. This permits autonomous operation and inherent load following. The reactor core is designed to operate for eight or more years in full power mode prior to refueling.
     The eVinci micro reactor can be factory built, fueled, and assembled. A plug-and-play interface allows for the eVinci to be installed onsite in less than thirty days. eVinci can operate on or off the electrical grid in all weather conditions and temperatures. The deployable electricity and heat generator is ideal for industrial applications and district heating.
BWXT Advanced Technologies
     SMR developer BWXT Technologies will construct the first advanced microreactor in the U.S. The nuclear solutions company was selected by the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Strategic Capabilities Office to manufacture full-scale mobile reactor prototypes. These prototypes are to be delivered for testing to the Idaho National Laboratory in 2024. The microreactor will be constructed under a three hundred million dollar valued cost-type contract. This was reported by a company press release issued last summer.
     Joe Miller is the President of BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC. He said, “We are on a mission to design, build and test new nuclear technology to protect the environment while providing power, and we are thrilled with this competitively bid award after years of hard work by our design and engineering team. The entire nuclear industry recognizes that advanced reactors are an important step forward to support growing power needs and significant carbon reduction imperatives.”
Kairos Power
     SMR maker Kairos Power is counting on high-temperature molten salt reactors to provide competitive, reliable, and responsible nuclear energy. The company presents its fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor (KP-FHR) as an affordable and long-term alternative to conventional sources of energy such as natural gas. Natural gas is the U.S.’s primary fuel of choice. This information was provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
     The KP-FHR is a novel SMR technology with a near-zero carbon footprint and minimal water consumption. It features an accident-resistant design and dispatchable reactor. As U.S. natural gas use declines in the next decade, Kairo is poised to meet increasing electricity demand with its innovative high-purity fluoride salt-cooled technology. The company intends to complete an initial demonstration of its advanced nuclear reactor design by no later than 2030. This information was provided by Mike Laufer, who is the co-founder and CEO of Kairos.
     SMRs offer governments across the globe the chance to reduce emissions and provide reliable power to consumers. Thanks to innovators like those listed above, SMRs are quickly getting ready to be deployed at a global scale.