April 15, 2020 - Sargent & Lundy Chairman, President & CEO Tom White, along with Senior Vice President Shiven Sulkar, attended the first ever U.S.-EU high-level forum on small modular reactors (SMR) on behalf of the firm. The invitation-only event took place October 21, 2019 in Brussels, Belgium, and was hosted by the European Commission (EC) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Then U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, and EU Commissioner of Energy and Climate, Miguel Arias Canete, sponsored the event.
The forum featured both light water and advanced reactor technologies and examined the challenges and opportunities associated with using SMR technologies in future energy systems. The event brought together business stakeholders and government authorities to discuss technology impacts, potential financial support frameworks, and licensing/regulatory issues that can affect timely and cost-effective deployment. Also in attendance from the U.S. Energy Department were Kristine Svinicki, Chairman of the U.S. NRC; Rita Baranwal, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy for the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); Ted Garrish U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs; and Gordan Sondland, U.S. Ambassador to the EU.
Tom White was asked to participate in a panel session, The U.S. Perspective, that discussed challenges associated with the deployment of new small modular reactor technology. The panel was chaired by the Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) President and Chief Executive Officer, Maria Korsnick, and included presidents and CEOs from Westinghouse, NuScale Power, GE-Hitachi, and the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council among others.
SMR technology is currently a particularly relevant subject in both the EU and U.S. In the EU, several Member States and companies have announced plans aimed at the commercial development of small modular reactors. In the U.S., plans are underway to bring America’s first SMR power plant to market. Sargent & Lundy will be on the front-line of this industry-leading project, led by NuScale Power and partially funded by the DOE. Sargent & Lundy is developing the standard plant design for the plant and providing additional architect-engineer support for this groundbreaking project.
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