Great British Nuclear (GBN), the arms-length body set up to oversee the U.K.’s plans for new sources of nuclear power, is getting ready to launch a tender to procure up to two owner’s engineers as part of its small modular reactor program.

GBN said in its recent announcement, “The Owner’s Engineer (OE) will provide essential independent assurance to the Intelligent Customer and Intelligent Client for the relevant SMR project. This will support the deployment of first-of-a-kind nuclear technology in the U.K. and facilitate GBN’s goal of reaching a Final Investment Decision(s) for up to two SMR projects. In particular, the OE will act as a ‘client friend’ to the Intelligent Customer and Intelligent Client and provide competent resources to undertake specification, oversight, audit, review and advice for decisions relating to design, scope, budget, risk, delivery and contract compliance. It will also play the role of subject matter expert to deliver independent technical and delivery Line of Defence 2 assurance on major design and build contracts.”

GBN said that the total value of the contract is eight hundred million dollars, assuming that two contracts are awarded (one for each planned SMR project), each with a total contract value of up to four hundred million dollars. However, GBN notes that the actual value will depend on a number of different factors. The actual duration of the contract(s) is envisaged to be about fourteen years, but GBN said it will set a completion date once it has selected the SMR technology partner(s).

GBN explained, “It is expected that SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) will have the chance to participate in this procurement through a tenderer’s supply chain, a joint venture, a special purpose vehicle or a consortium.”

The tender notice is expected to be published on the 2^nd of June of this year, with submissions accepted until the 19^th of September. A decision on the contract winner(s) is expected to be made on the 12^th of March 2026.

GBN said that there will be two phases in the OE procurement process. In the first phase, tenderers will need to respond to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). This document will include the required conditions of participation. If the response submitted by a particular tenderer satisfies all the relevant conditions, the tenderer will be invited to submit a tender as part of the second phase of the procurement. GBN said it will then review the tenderer’s proposals against questions covering technical, commercial and social value criteria.

GE Hitachi, Holtec, Rolls-Royce SMR and Westinghouse are the shortlisted technology provides being considered. Three of them have confirmed that they have submitted their final tender response to GBN. The fourth provider – Westinghouse – has yet to confirm whether it has submitted its final tender. Following the confirmations of submissions, GBN made the announcement of the OE.

In February of this year, GBN said that it remains on track to select the chosen technology before summer of 2025. A final investment decision to select the winner is expected to be made in 2029.

Great British Nuclear

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the nation’s largest public power provider. It serves more than ten million people with reliable, affordable and resilient energy. The TVA is working to meet the exciting growth of their region through investments in systems, innovative new technologies and a constant commitment to operational excellence.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said in a Notification of Intent to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the TVA) intends to submit a Construction Permit Application (CPA) to license construction of a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at TVA’s Clinch River Nuclear Site (CRN Site). According to the notification, it intends to submit the first part of the application, including the Clinch River Nuclear Site Environmental Report, this month and the remainder “by June 2025”.

The CPA is essentially the blueprint for the design of the proposed plant and safety systems. The TVA must obtain approval from the NRC approval before construction can begin.

In a letter dated the 17^th of April, 2025, the TVA said, “As communicated previously, the TVA Board has not yet authorized the deployment of a SMR at the CRN Site. TVA’s submittal of the CPA is an important step to de-risk the licensing aspect of a potential, future SMR deployment. Any decisions about deployment will be subject to support, risk-sharing, required internal and external approvals, and completion of necessary environmental and permitting reviews.”

The NRC awarded the TVA an early site permit for the construction of SMRs at Clinch River in 2019. It certified that the site was acceptable for the construction of a nuclear power plant from the point of view of site safety, environmental impact and emergency planning. However, the permit did not specify the choice of technology. A separate license would be required to construct and operate a nuclear power plant. The TVA entered an agreement with GE Hitachi in 2022 to support its planning and preliminary licensing for the possible deployment of a BWRX-300 at the site, near Oak Ridge.

This will be the first CPA for a BWRX-300. TerraPower submitted a CPA for its first-of-a-kind Natrium plant, at Kemmerer, Wyoming, to the NRC in March 2024, which the regulator scheduled for review the following May. More recently, Long Mott Energy submitted a CPA for an Xe-100 power reactor to be sited in Calhoun County, Texas, on the 31^st of March this year, for which the regulator is targeting a scheduled decision by the end of May, this year.

A TVA-led coalition including BWRX-300 developer GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy applied for an eight hundred million dollar grant earlier this year from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Generation III+ SMR program to support the deployment of SMRs at Clinch River. The GE Hitachi CEO Jeff Lyash said that the application for the grant would accelerate construction of an SMR at Clinch River by two years, with commercial operation planned for 2033.

Earlier this year, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee pledged to support nuclear power, with a proposal for some fifty million dollars for the SMR project in his 2025 State of the State address.

Tennessee Valley Authority