A short list of compelling features includes:
- Small power, compact architecture, and complete reliance on passive safety to ensure certain safety for the public and plant personnel.
- The compact architecture enables modularity of fabrication, facilitating localization of manufacture for industrial development, along with implementation of higher quality standards than stick-built traditional plants.
- Lower power than existing large light and heavy water reactors, leading to a significant reduction of the source term as well as smaller radioactive inventory in the reactor and spent fuel pool.
- Underground location of the reactor unit, providing incredible protection from natural (e.g. seismic or tsunami according to the location) or man-made (e.g. aircraft impact) hazards.
- The modular design and small size lends itself ideally to having multiple units on the same site.
- Lower requirement for access to cooling water – therefore suitable for remote regions, or those with little or no access to precious or external water sources, and for specific applications such as mining or desalination.
- Long operating life, with an initial design life of 80 years and the potential to extend well beyond that.
- Produces clean, carbon-free heat or energy to support national interests in combating climate change.