mPower receives additional funding to develop its Small Modular Reactor.

• Position: POWERING WITH SMR

Charlotte. N.C.-based Babcock & Wilcox mPower received an additional $20.5 million of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program.

This amount makes the DOE's full commitment of the initial budget period available to B&W mPower as it develops its SMR--small nuclear power plants that are assembled at a plant and then shipped to a final site. The B&W mPower reactor is an advanced integral pressurized water reactor designed to generate 180 megawatts of electricity. The company received the first installment of $79 million when it signed the agreement in April. The DOE has provided about $2 million to national laboratories to perform analyses and evaluations related to the project, bringing the total DOE investment to $101.5 million.

B&W received the first award from the DOE to design, license and develop a commercial version of its SMR in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and San Francisco-based construction company Bechtel International. Through a five-year cost share agreement, the DOE will invest up to hall the project's cost, with industry partners matching the investment. More funding is expected but subject to appropriations from Congress and B&W mPower's compliance with the terms of the agreement.

"The additional funding allocation from the DOE further demonstrates the U.S. government's commitment to supporting private industry in the development and deployment of small modular reactor technology," says Christoler M. Mowry, president of B&W mPower. The company is on schedule to begin commercial operation of the Clinch River mPower Plant near Oak Ridge. Tenn.. by 2022.

Next round of funding

Another round of grants for SMR development is being offered by the DOE, and several companies with Carolinas ties are competing for this funding.

These include:

* Holtec International, based in Marlton, N.J., wants to build an SMR at Savannah River Site in Aiken County. S.C. This bid has the backing of the state of South Carolina and NuHub. the commercial nuclear advocacy group in the Midlands region of South...