SMRs can play a crucial role in fulfilling the commitment made by 25 countries at COP28 to triple installed nuclear capacity by 2050 in support of net zero targets. This role encompasses addressing challenges in hard-to-abate sectors, such as replacing coal power plants with on-grid power, substituting diesel generators with off-grid heat and power for remote mining operations, providing high-temperature heat to replace fossil fuel co-generation in heavy industries, and serving as marine propulsion to replace heavy-fuel oil in merchant shipping.
This summit brought together senior government officials and industry leaders who discussed key policy priorities and international co-operation aimed at expediting the deployment of SMRs.
Achieving the economies of multiples
Serial construction has underpinned significant cost reductions in a number of industries, including aviation, shipbuilding, data centers, as well as energy sectors such as wind and oil & gas. This “economies of multiples” is expected to play a significant role for SMRs in order to compensate for the “economies of scale” that otherwise traditionally benefits gigawatt-scale reactors. At the same time, it is also expected to contribute to accelerating time to market, with broader implications for SMRs value proposition. This session reviewed best practices from these other industries in terms of their approach to serial construction and discuss key lessons learnt, as well as their applicability for large-scale deployment of SMRs.
Session Chair: Jenifer Shafer, Associate Director, ARPA-E, US Department of Energy
Speakers:
• Eric Ingersoll, Founding Director and Co-CEO, Terra Praxis
• Gary Fischer, Executive Director, Project Production Institute
• Marcus Nichol, Executive Director, New Nuclear, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
• Celestin Piette, Chief Vision Officer, Tractebel
• Mark Tipping, Global Power to X Director, Lloyd’s Register