Dallas-based Jacobs, long involved in both nuclear remediation and nuclear power, plans to tap into the market for new small reactors as a source of carbon-free electric generation, executives said Monday.
“Nuclear most recently has been surging with regard to becoming a clean energy transition solution,” Jacobs’ Chair and CEO Steve Demetriou said during a quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts.
This is especially when it comes to the evolving market for small modular reactors (SMRs) as an alternative to fossil fuels-generated electricity, said Demetriou and current president and chief operating officer Bob Pragada. Pragada, who will succeed his boss as CEO on Jan. 24, hailed SMRs as emissions-free sources of electricity that is “always on,” unlike wind and solar power.
“In the U.K. [United Kingdom] we are delivering engineering and technical services to the Rolls Royce SMR program,” Pragada said. Jacobs is part of a Rolls Royce-led advanced SMR consortium that includes Atkins.
The emergence of the SMR market is one reason Demetriou said he is bullish on the company’s Critical Mission Solutions segment, which quarterbacks business development with the Department of Energy. The company is a leading or junior partner on several major DOE nuclear-weapon sites.
In addition to its nuclear government sector work in the United States, Jacobs also works with Tokyo Electric Power in Japan to help it with long-term decommissioning strategy planning, fuel debris retrieval and related work for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Jacobs on Monday reported earnings for the fiscal year ended Sept. 2022 before the opening bell on Wall St. The company has filed its form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission and posted an executive presentation from Monday morning’s investor call online.
