Westinghouse has completed the manufacturing and assembly of two nuclear fuel test assemblies for the Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at its Columbia fuel fabrication facility in South Carolina.
Westinghouse has completed the manufacturing and assembly of two nuclear fuel test assemblies for the Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at its Columbia fuel fabrication facility in South Carolina.
The next stage, hydraulic testing of the fuel designs, will continue through August 2013, Westinghouse said.
Westinghouse chief technology officer and senior vice president Dr. Kate Jackson described completing the test fuel assemblies as "a significant milestone in developing the Westinghouse SMR and moves it closer to being the first SMR to the global market."
The Westinghouse SMR is a 225 MWe integral pressurized water reactor (PWR), with all primary components located inside of the reactor vessel. It utilizes passive safety systems and proven components, as well as modular construction techniques to achieve the highest level of safety and reduced number of components required.
Westinghouse is one of three vendors that responded to the second round of a US Department of Energy funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to accelerate the deployment of SMR technology, which closed 1 July. NuScale Power and Holtec International also submitted funding applications to the DOE for the 25 MW NuScale Power Module and the SMR-160, respectively.