JAPAN’S JGC INVESTS IN US FIRM NuSCALE POWER AND ENTERS SMR BUSINESS

JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) announces its decision to invest in NuScale Power, LLC, a U.S. developer of small modular reactors (SMRs) with the aim of partnering in the delivery of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) business for these plants. JGC is investing $40 million in NuScale through a special-purpose company established by JGC’s U.S. subsidiary.
“The JGC Group embrace the goal of “Carbon Neutral in 2050″ as committed by Japanese Government last year. Our investment in NuScale technology, with its enhanced safety features, will enable JGC to expand our EPC business and deliver a zero carbon resource to the growing demand of the global energy market” said Tadashi Ishizuka, Representative Director, President and COO of JGC Holdings Corporation.
As renewable energy becomes a primary energy source with the rapid advancement of decarbonization globally, it remains a challenge to ensure a stable supply of electricity by renewables due to their susceptibility to the natural environment. SMR plants are expected to fulfill a key role as a complement to renewables by providing reliable, dispatchable, zero-emission generation.
SMRs will also serve as an energy source for hydrogen production and seawater desalination. SMR technology provides a much safer design, which is modular in nature and provides flexibility in future expandability and repeatability in project execution.
The SMR market is projected to cover approximately 230 GW of the additional worldwide electricity capacity of the about 4,900 GW needed by 2050, and NuScale SMRs are expected to account for a sizeable portion of the market (market projections based on independent research).
In Japan, the government’s “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050” sets out policies for assisting Japanese companies to implement demonstration projects for SMRs overseas. Meanwhile, JGC anticipates that the SMR market will expand in the future, with SMRs facilitating the realization of decarbonized societies alongside hydrogen and renewable energy.
Furthermore, in August 2020, NuScale’s SMR technology became the first to obtain regulatory design approval in the United States, and its advanced SMR technology is ready for commercialization as compared to other U.S. SMR technologies. Accordingly, JGC has made the strategic decision to invest in NuScale and in doing so, enter the EPC business for SMR plants.
With this investment, JGC plans to participate in NuScale’s first SMR plant through JGC Corporation, the group company that handles overseas EPC business. JGC Corporation will collaborate with U.S. EPC giant Fluor Corporation, the majority investor in NuScale, which has a track record of major EPC projects successfully completed in the Energy and Infrastructure markets.
Small modular reactors, which are defined as advanced reactors that produce electricity of up to 300 MW(e) per module. These reactors have advanced engineered features, are deployable either as a single or multi-module plant, offer the possibility to combine nuclear with alternative energy sources including renewables, and are designed to be built in factories and shipped to utilities for installation as demand arises. (Source: International Atomic Energy Association)
NuScale based in Portland, Oregon, USA, is developing a small modular reactor (SMR) with an integrated containment diameter of roughly 4.5 m, a height of roughly 23 m, and output of 77 MW.
JGC is a global engineering company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.
(Source: JGC)