On October 19, U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Dr. Rita Baranwal visited Holtec’s Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus in Camden, NJ. The centerpiece of her visit was the Advanced Manufacturing Division (AMD) plant where Holtec manufactures large capital equipment and tests new manufacturing technologies, and where components for Holtec’s SMR-160 small modular reactor will be built in the future.
(From Left to Right: Myron Kaczmarsky, Managing Director of Holtec Government Services; J. Scott Thomson, Executive Director of Global Security; DOE Assistant Secretary Dr. Rita Baranwal; Tom Marcille, Vice President of Reactor Technologies; Dr. Rick Springman, Senior Vice President of International Projects)
“We offer our 400,000 square foot, 400-ton payload, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, purpose-built for the new generation of nuclear reactors, as evidence of our commitment to clean energy generation and our support for maintaining America’s historical leadership role in the nuclear industry,” said Holtec’s Managing Director of Holtec Government Services, Myron Kaczmarsky.
During the visit, Dr. Baranwal learned how all Holtec equipment is designed up front to be manufactured and how the Company’s vertical process integration optimizes costs while ensuring the quality of the fabricated equipment. It was also shared how Holtec’s design processes and AMD’s automation are reducing costs dramatically, which will be key to realizing the promise of low-cost SMR economics.
“I am very impressed with the people, vision, and facilities at Holtec,” said Dr. Baranwal. “It was energizing to see them equipped and ready to fabricate SMR components in addition to their continued production of multi-purpose canisters for used nuclear fuel. Holtec has been, and continues to be, an important contributor to continued U.S. leadership in the nuclear energy sector.”
The Assistant Secretary received an in-depth technical briefing from Holtec’s executives on the Company’s many innovations including the SMR-160 reactor, the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) and the HI-POWER aqueous battery storage system.
Holtec’s Vice President of Reactor Technologies, Tom Marcille, briefed Dr. Baranwal on Holtec’s efforts to make the SMR-160 reactor unconditionally safe and cost competitive, which will determine its global market share of clean energy generation.
Holtec International’s subsidiary, SMR, LLC, has substantially developed the SMR-160 Safety Analysis Report (SAR) as it continues to complete the plant design specification. Holtec intends to use the SAR for 10 CFR Part 50 Construction Permit Applications and 10 CFR Part 52 Standard Design Approval or Design Certification Applications with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Dr. Rick Springman, Holtec’s Senior Vice President of International Projects, spoke of Holtec’s vision of mini-grids consisting of SMR-160s and Holtec’s HI-POWER aqueous battery storage system to participate in the ongoing transition from fossil fuels to clean energy around the world.
Speaking on Holtec’s HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF), currently undergoing NRC licensing for deployment in Southeastern New Mexico, Program Director Ed Mayer pointed to HI-STORE’s main attributes, namely its underground storage system and virtually impregnable structure, zero pollution profile, a non-credible risk of any radiological emission, and its portability, i.e., the ever-ready ability to rapidly remove the waste packages from the site for off-site shipment. With an NRC licensing decision expected by mid-2021, the HI-STORE CISF would give the U.S. the ability to aggregate the nation’s used nuclear fuel at the New Mexico site, which is an ideal location with its arid climate, stable geology and high plateau.
“The innovative features of the HI-STORE CISF are designed to protect the health and safety of the public and environment,” said Mayer. “In addition, the local community strongly supports the project and the positive economic impact it will have on Southeastern New Mexico.”
Special thanks once again to Dr. Baranwal for taking the time to visit Holtec’s Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus including the Advanced Manufacturing Division, one of the Company’s three U.S.-based manufacturing plants.
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