Portland, Oregon-based NuScale Power Corporation and Nucor Corporation today announced the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore co-locating NuScale's VOYGR small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) power plants to provide “clean, reliable baseload electricity” to Nucor’s scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel mills.
In a press release, NuScale said the companies will also explore an expanded manufacturing partnership through which Nucor would supply EconiqTM its “net-zero” steel products for NuScale projects.
As part of the MOU, the companies will evaluate site suitability, transmission interconnection capabilities and capital costs for potential NuScale plants to be sited near and provide carbon free electricity to Nucor EAF steel mills. In addition, NuScale will study the feasibility of siting a manufacturing facility for NuScale Power Modules near a Nucor facility.
NuScale said its VOYGR power plants, which can be scaled in different plant configurations to produce up to 924 MWe of output, are well-suited for industrial applications as a highly reliable source of carbon-free energy.
“As the first and only SMR design to be approved and certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NuScale’s VOYGR plants include fully passive safety features which eliminate the need for an external grid connection to perform key safety functions and can achieve a site boundary Emergency Planning Zone, improving plant siting flexibility for industrial users like Nucor,” the press release said.
The agreement strengthens NuScale’s partnership with Nucor, which invested $15 million in NuScale in 2022, and highlights the growing global interest in SMRs among industrial leaders.
The press release noted the US Department of Energy has identified emissions reductions in the steel manufacturing industry as an important step to reach net-zero by 2050.