en.Wedoany.com Reported - On May 13, U.S. nuclear company First American Nuclear (FANCO) and global engineering and nuclear firm AtkinsRéalis announced a strategic alliance to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear energy in the United States.
Under the agreement, the two parties will integrate their respective technical, commercial, and organizational capabilities to jointly develop, test, and license FANCO's EAGL-1 fast-spectrum small modular reactor (SMR) and its supporting fuel facilities. AtkinsRéalis will serve as the exclusive Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) services provider for the EAGL-1 project in North America, responsible for work related to the reactor, fuel fabrication, and recycling facilities, and will support testing and licensing validation to ensure EAGL-1 begins large-scale power generation by 2033. The alliance agreement spans 20 years, with the value of services for the first five years expected to reach $250 million.
FANCO CEO Mike Reinboth stated that the two parties are combining specialized technology in advanced nuclear reactors and fuel with world-class engineering resources to bring affordable and reliable nuclear energy to the United States as quickly as possible. Jeff Kendall, President of AtkinsRéalis U.S. Nuclear, said this collaboration will advance the mission of delivering affordable, reliable, and safe energy.
The EAGL-1 utilizes lead-bismuth cooling technology, eliminating the need for complex special material safety systems. It can be manufactured and assembled using existing U.S. factory infrastructure and supply chains to reduce costs and shorten deployment times. Designed with a generation capacity of 240 megawatts, it is sufficient to meet the electricity needs of 1.5 million households, with a footprint significantly smaller than traditional nuclear plants of equivalent output.
FANCO will also develop the first closed fuel cycle nuclear energy system in the United States, reprocessing and reusing spent nuclear fuel on-site to eliminate up to 95% of long-lived nuclear waste. The system focuses on Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel and Transuranic (TRU) fuel, sourced from existing U.S. Department of Energy inventories, which are currently funded by taxpayers due to high storage costs. The EAGL-1 is also capable of using High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), maintaining fuel type flexibility and avoiding supply chain bottlenecks.
Furthermore, FANCO has introduced a solution called "Bridge Power™," which uses readily available packaged boilers to provide heat for steam turbines and generate electricity immediately. This allows for a seamless transition to carbon-free nuclear energy by subsequently replacing the boilers with EAGL-1 reactors, minimizing equipment and retrofit costs.
Multiple employees from both companies have previously collaborated on several major projects, including the U.S. Department of Energy's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFC). FANCO states that its system is designed to provide nuclear energy at a cost comparable to natural gas and renewable energy (combined with energy storage), with this cost model based on existing assumptions for the first commercial deployment, rather than speculation on future projects.
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