Westinghouse Awarded $5 Million from U.S. Department of Energy
Westinghouse Electric Company announced today that it was awarded $5
million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding will be used to
develop a self-regulating solid core block (SCB) that employs solid
materials (instead of bulk liquid flow or moving parts) to inherently
self-regulate the reaction rate in a nuclear reactor. The development of
the SCB is a key component of Westinghouse’s eVinciTM micro
reactor concept – a next-generation, very small modular reactor for
decentralized generation markets.
“It is very exciting to be chosen as part of this new program,” said Ken
Canavan, Westinghouse’s chief technology officer. “DOE funding for these
projects is essential to developing game-changing, next-generation
technologies to generate environmentally sound energy that also
addresses shifting global market needs.”
The small size of the eVinci generator, under 15 megawatts-electric,
allows for easier transportation and rapid, on-site installation in
contrast to large, centralized stations. The micro reactor is designed
to run for up to 10 years, eliminating the need for frequent refueling.
The nature of the Westinghouse design will allow the reactor to operate
and achieve safe shutdown without the need for additional controls,
external power source or operator intervention, enabling highly
autonomous operation. As part of this project, the team will conduct
modeling and simulation to demonstrate the SCB’s self-regulating
ability, with additional testing to validate modeling and simulation
tools, and confirm manufacturability.
Westinghouse received this competitive award from ARPA-E’s
Modeling-Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear Energy Reinvigoration
(MEITNER) program, in which teams develop innovative technologies that
enable designs for lower cost, safer, advanced nuclear reactors. Today’s
nuclear plants face comparatively high operational and maintenance
costs. MEITNER projects will leverage design, new manufacturing
processes, and technologies to lower costs and increase the
competitiveness of nuclear power.
For additional information about Westinghouse and this project, please
visit http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/New-Plants/eVinci-Micro-Reactor.
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Copyright Business Wire 2018
Source: Business Wire
(June 7, 2018 - 8:15 AM EDT)
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