Holtec, Hyundai step up pursuit of new SMRs at Palisades complex

Holtec and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Tuesday announced another step in their plans to develop new small modular reactors at the currently-closed Palisade nuclear plant site in Covert, Mich.

Holtec and the South Korea-based construction company said in a Tuesday press release they are making headway in their effort to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States by 2030.

The two companies said they held a formal “launch ceremony” for their efforts at the Palisades plant, which shut down in May 2022.

In addition to seeking Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval to restart the shuttered 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant, Holtec and Hyundai E&C continue to pursue deployment of Holtec SMR-300 units at the Palisades complex. Holtec is seeking approval this summer of restarting the legacy Palisades nuclear plant.

Holtec and Hyundai E&C have an “expanded alliance agreement” with a goal of building a 10-gigawatt fleet of SMR-300s in North America through the 2030s, beginning with the landmark Palisades SMR project.

The Holtec-Hyundai team is one of many industry players hoping to restart idle nuclear reactors or build new SMRs, NBC News reported.

The SMR-300 units employ a design where the reactor core is underground and encased in a steel and concrete structure, according to a Holtec website. Unlike current larger, operating reactors, the SMR-300 would make use of “passive” safety systems that would not require actions by a plant operator during a natural disaster or other type of accident.

“Since announcing the Palisades SMR-300 project in 2023, Holtec has made substantial progress, including detailed site and environmental studies to choose a location for the plant within the Palisades property, establishment of a groundwater monitoring program, and completion of soil boring,” Holtec said in Tuesday’s release.

Thus far, Holtec has spent more than $50 million SMR-300 site development and environmental activities it is targeting, starting the NRC construction permit process for the SMR early next year.

“With Holtec’s in-house manufacturing and Hyundai E&C as our construction partner, we control most of the process, allowing us to refine and improve with every reactor we build,” Holtec’s president of clean energy, Rick Springman said in the Tuesday release. Holtec’s CEO Kris Singh praised Hyundai E&C for building a large reactor complex in the United Arab Emirates during the past decade.