US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has received formal approval from the UK Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) to enter the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for its AP300 small modular reactor (SMR).
This is the first of the two-Step GDA process that will initiate work with the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales. The GDA process is intended to assess the safety, security, and environmental protection aspects of a new reactor designs, separately from applications to build them at specific sites. A reactor has completed the GDA process when it receives a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) from the ONR and a Statement of Design Acceptability (SoDA) from the Environment Agency.
The AP300 SMR design is based on Westinghouse’s Gen III+ AP1000 technology, which has previously received regulatory approval in the UK, the US and China, as well as compliance with European Utility Requirements (EUR) standards for nuclear power plants. Westinghouse said theAP300 SMR will used the AP1000 engineering, components and supply chain, enabling streamlined licencing and leveraging available technical skills. “Together, these factors provide confidence that the first operating unit will be available in the early 2030s.”
Westinghouse applied to enter the GDA process in February. Approval followed selection in October 2023 of the AP300 SMR for the current phase of Great British Nuclear and selection by Community Nuclear Power (CNP) earlier this year to build four AP300 SMRs in Northeast England. Westinghouse said these projects will leverage its nuclear manufacturing operations in the UK at its facility in Springfields, Lancashire.
“We would like to thank the UK Department of Energy Security & Net Zero for their swift and positive consideration of our application to enter the AP300 Small Modular Reactor for Generic Design Assessment,” said Dan Lipman, Westinghouse Energy Systems President. “The UK’s familiarity with the AP300’s underpinning technology and our strong track record of licencing success in the UK and globally give us confidence that we will move through the GDA process at pace.”
Generic Design Assessments have previously been completed for the EDF/AREVA UK EPR, the Westinghouse AP1000, the Hitachi-GE UK ABWR and the CGN/EDF/GNI UK HPR1000 designs. A GDA assessment is currently ongoing for Rolls-Royce SMR Limited’s Small Modular Reactor design, and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in January announced that its BWRX-300 SMR design is to enter the GDA process. DESNZ has asked ONR, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales to begin a GDA for Holtec International’s SMR-300.
