Innovation often means inventing something new, but it can also mean taking what works and tying it together in a new way to get a new result. Policymakers and climate advocates agree that we need innovation of all kinds to reduce carbon emissions quickly.
In nuclear energy, where developing, testing, licensing and deploying new hardware can take years, making use of previously proven concepts and components makes innovation come faster and reduces the risk of unexpected problems on the road to a zero-carbon energy system.
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is following this route with the BWRX-300, a small modular reactor (SMR) that uses proven elements to create a new design that will provide affordable, flexible and carbon-free power when its needed most.
GE Hitachi Uses What’s Tried and True to Do Something New
In every nuclear plant, all components are extensively evaluated before they are installed. Can they operate reliably in an industrial environment? Are the materials sturdy enough? Will they be difficult to maintain? How reliable will they be?
The answers are easier for GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 because 90 percent of the components are already in use in the industry. That includes the fuel, the material in the control rods (which are positioned to regulate the power of the nuclear reaction) and the parts that move the control rods. The reactor vessel is smaller, but made of proven materials.
“There’s no magic here; it’s all a boiling water reactor,” said Christer Dahlgren, principal engineer.
The mix of old and new in the BWRX-300 is embedded in the name; it’s a boiling water reactor, and the X signifies that this is the tenth in a series (General Electric started working on the first one in 1955). But the 300 is definitely a departure. That stands for 300 megawatts, which is 80 percent smaller than the previous generation.
A lot of the improvements are in what the reactor does not have, because of the innovation in its design.
For example, the safety systems of reactors today are set up to compensate for the sudden failure of a large pipe. But the BWRX-300 does not have any large pipes outside the reactor vessel, so those systems become unnecessary.
Existing plants also maintain complicated systems to provide electricity in an emergency. The BWRX 300 doesn’t need them; after shutdown, it can be cooled by natural forces, like conduction of heat, and the fact that hot water will rise and cold water will sink, setting up natural circulation.
And existing plants have extensive procedures for coping with equipment failures. The BWRX-300 automatically turns itself off as soon as any issue is detected and does not require complex safety systems to do so.
Small Is Beautiful—And Useful
Smaller means simpler. As we’ve noted, the BWRX-300 design eliminates some systems that become irrelevant, and the cumulative effect is important.
The reactor’s output is 80 percent smaller but uses 90 percent less steel and concrete. That’s half as much steel and concrete per unit of energy output.
“Smaller is actually cheaper, and we’re focused on cost,” said Dahlgren.
A small design also makes the reactor more flexible, which fits well with other carbon-free energy sources on the grid, like wind and solar, whose output can’t be dialed up by the grid operator. GE Hitachi’s reactor will fill in the difference between variable demand and variable supply, and unlike fossil gas, which does that job today, the reactor will meet the changing need with zero-carbon electricity. With a simpler design and lower capital cost, the price of this energy will be competitive with fossil gas.
This New Reactor Will Be Ready in Time to Help Us Reach Our Climate Goals
Because it’s based on existing components and previous design, large parts of the BWRX-300 are already licensed for other designs, simplifying the approval process at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And the supply chain for making those components is already in place.
“It’s innovation balanced with very predictable deployment,” said Brian R. Johnson, GE Hitachi’s Vice President, BWRX-300 Product Director. GE Hitachi says it can put the first one into operation in 2028.
To reduce emissions as quickly as we can, we will need every carbon-free energy source available, including some that don’t exist yet. The next generation of reactor designs like GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 are great examples of innovation that will help us reach our ambitious climate goals with an accelerated licensing timeline, cheaper construction costs and increased flexibility to work well with wind and solar energy.
