Nuclear

Westinghouse procures a new partner for floating nuclear power plant design, development

FNPPs are meant to be centrally manufactured and easily transported to operation sites, combining advanced nuclear technology with shipyard efficiency.

Westinghouse procures a new partner for floating nuclear power plant design, development
eVinci Microreactor (Credit: Westinghouse)

Westinghouse Electric Company and CORE POWER announced a new cooperative agreement for the design and development of a floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) using Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactor.

FNPPs are meant to be centrally manufactured and easily transported to operation sites, combining advanced nuclear technology with shipyard efficiency. Westinghouse argues its eVinci microreactor is suited for this type of deployment, given its size and the company’s claim that it can operate at eight years at full power without refueling. The concept is meant to reduce the need for building permanent infrastructure, allowing the use of nuclear power in areas where it would otherwise be difficult.

“There’s no net-zero without nuclear. A long series of identical turnkey power plants using multiple installations of the Westinghouse eVinci microreactor delivered by sea, creates a real opportunity to scale nuclear as the perfect solution to meet the rapidly growing demand for clean, flexible and reliable electricity delivered on time and on budget,” said Mikal Bøe, CEO of CORE POWER. “Our unique partnership with Westinghouse is a game changer for how customers buy nuclear energy.”

Under the agreement, Westinghouse and CORE POWER will aim to advance the design of a FNPP using the eVinci microreactor and its heat pipe technology. Heat pipe technology is meant to improve reliability while providing a non-pressurized method of passively transferring heat. Heat pipes in the eVinci microreactor transfer heat from the nuclear core to a power conversion system, which Westinghouse says eliminates the need for water cooling and the associated recirculation systems. In addition, the companies will collaborate to develop a regulatory approach to licensing FNPP systems.

The eVinci microreactor builds on decades of industry-leading Westinghouse innovation to bring carbon-free, safe and scalable energy wherever it is needed for a variety of applications, including providing reliable electricity and heating for remote communities, universities, mining operations, industrial centers, data centers and defense facilities, and soon the lunar surface and beyond. The resilient eVinci microreactor has very few moving parts, working essentially as a battery, providing the versatility for power systems ranging from several kilowatts to 5 megawatts of electricity, delivered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for eight-plus years without refueling. It can also produce high temperature heat suitable for industrial applications, including alternative fuel production such as hydrogen, and has the flexibility to balance renewable output. The technology is factory-built and assembled before it is shipped in a container.

The idea of FNPP hasn’t quite caught on in North America yet, but Russia seems to be ahead of the curve. In 2020, the FNPP “Akademic Lomonosov” was fully commissioned in Pevek, the Chukotka region in far east Russia – marking the deployment of the world’s first FNPP. The FNPP started providing electricity to the isolated grid of the Chaun-Bilibino energy center of Chukotka on December 19, 2019. The plant has already generated over 47.3 million kWh of electricity between being connected to the grid and the commissioning.

Earlier this year, Westinghouse announced it was collaborating with Prodigy on a transportable nuclear power plant (TNPP) that will feature one of Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactors, meant to serve power needs in remote or harsh climates like the Arctic. The two companies, which have been collaborating since 2019 to evaluate deployment models for the eVinci microreactor, are still in the design stages of the project. Next steps include completing the development of a nuclear oversight model for TNPP manufacturing, outfitting and transport, and progressing licensing and site assessments to support a first project in Canada by 2030.

In a 2019-2020 study, Prodigy assessed the eVinci microreactor for deployment in a TNPP setting. The company then undertook the development of TNPP civil structures standardized for deployment at a range of sites. Prodigy’s Microreactor Power Station TNPP, which is intended to be able to integrate one or multiple 5MWe factory-built and fueled eVinci microreactors, would be prefabricated and transported to a site for installation at the shoreline or on land.

The core design of eVinci is built around a graphite core, with channels both for heat pipes and TRISO fuel pellets. Hundreds of passive in-core heat pipes, filled with liquid sodium, are intended to increase system reliability and safety. Pipes embedded in the core transfer heat from one end to the other, where it is captured in a heat exchanger. For cooling, each heat pipe contains a small amount of sodium liquid as the working fluid to move heat from the core and is fully encapsulated in a sealed pipe

Westinghouse engineers laud the microreactor’s passive cooling design. There are no pumps to circulate water or gas. The reactor’s heat pipes replace the reactor coolant pump, reactor coolant system, primary coolant chemistry control, and all associated auxiliary systems. It has few moving parts while operating, and Westinghouse says it can operate for eight-plus years without refueling.

The microreactor can generate 5 MW of electricity or 13 MW of heat from a 15 MW thermal core. Exhaust heat from the power conversion system can be used for district heating applications or low-temperature steam. eVinci could also be used in hydrogen production, maritime, or industrial heat applications.

Westinghouse looks to off-grid applications like remote communities and mine sites as the entry market for eVinci. But the microreactor could also serve industrial sites or data centers. In remote locations, it could replace diesel as a power-generating fuel, which is expensive to transport often hundreds of miles.