DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gen4 Energy announced today that it has decided not to pursue the recently released DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Small Modular Reactor Licensing Support Program. The purpose of the FOA was to enter into cost sharing arrangements with companies that have designs that can be “expeditiously licensed and achieve a U.S. Commercial Operation Date (COD) on a domestic site by 2022.” While the FOA was open to any SMR technology, Gen4 Energy concluded that use of well-known Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology of 45 to 300 MW intended for deployment in the USA had a much higher probability of success given the FOA’s stated maximum of two awards.
“We have a unique, next-generation product for a very specific market,” said Bob Prince, CEO of Gen4 Energy. “We have targeted and will continue to target small, remote or off-the-grid markets that tend to rely on diesel power. Gen4 Energy applauds the efforts of the DOE to move domestic SMR technology forward, but our focus will remain on regions and applications most in need of next generation technology.” Prince also said, “The DOE FOA will help move the current LWR SMR market forward which can provide an economic energy alternative for the United States. We also look forward to DOE’s efforts on additional domestic support for Generation IV nuclear power technologies.”
“While we will not pursue the Licensing FOA, we are excited to continue our work under our Memorandum of Agreement with DOE to deploy our advanced reactor at Savannah River,” said David Carlson, COO and Chief Nuclear Officer at Gen4 Energy. “In addition, we have responded to the DOE’s recent RFI (DE-SOL-0003674) for advanced reactors which is directly applicable to our initiatives.”
Gen4 Energy, based in Denver, Colorado, was founded in 2007, and is working in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory, under the DOE Technology Transfer program, to develop an advanced design nuclear reactor referred to as the Gen4 Module (G4M). The G4M produces 25 MW of electricity to power remote mining or oil and gas operations, large government complexes, and isolated and island communities. The design intent for the G4M is to provide safe and reliable power that is available 24/7, the generation of which emits no greenhouse gasses, and to operate for 10 years without refueling. It is planned to be manufactured in a factory, transported to the installation site completely sealed, and after its useful life replaced with an entirely new power module.