Holtec has set a 2030 target for commercial operation of two small modular reactors to be built beside the large nuclear plant it is working to restart in Michigan.
The company’s Feb. 25 announcement also laid out a roadmap for Holtec and Hyundai Engineering & Construction to build a 10-GW fleet of SMRs elsewhere in North America through the 2030s.
Both announcements build on existing plans and an existing alliance between the two companies.
They said their respective construction expertise and in-house manufacturing capabilities will be key to increasing the speed and decreasing the cost of SMR construction compared with the few recent large-scale U.S. reactor projects, which have been restrictively slow and expensive.
Holtec’s SMR-300 initiative is just one of several small modular reactor development efforts. The 2030 target date for commercial operation makes it one of the more ambitious efforts, but the concept is similar: Standardize the design, increase deployment and develop economies of scale, rather than intermittently building what amounts to a series of first-of-a-kind projects.
“The key to making SMR deployment faster and more cost effective isn’t just learning from the industry — it’s applying those lessons directly to each new project,” Rick Springman, Holtec’s president of global clean energy opportunities, said in a news release. “With Holtec’s in-house manufacturing and Hyundai E&C as our construction partner, we control most of the process, allowing us to refine and improve with every reactor we build. That’s how we scale smarter and deliver reliable energy where it’s needed most.”
The two companies held a launch ceremony Feb. 25 at Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant, which Holtec acquired from Entergy when it shut down in 2022. Holtec initially planned to decommission it but now is preparing the 54-year-old 800-MW reactor for a first-of-its kind restart. The company received a $1.52 billion federal loan guarantee for the project in March 2024.
Holtec said it has invested more than $50 million in SMR-300 site development efforts and expects to start its formal permitting process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year.
Holtec began collaborating with Hyundai E&C in 2021, and the two have now signed an expanded cooperation agreement for SMR-300 construction.
The SMR-300 is a 300-MW advanced Generation 3+ pressurized light water reactor design. Holtec’s intention is to build the plants, service them through their operational life, manage spent fuel and perform decommissioning.
Multiple other companies and consortia are pursuing SMRs, and many potential customers are keenly interested in them as a non-intermittent source of emissions-free electricity, but SMRs still must reach a long series of engineering, regulatory, financial, supply-chain and political milestones before they are deployed at scale.
Hyundai E&C CEO Han-Woo Lee said in the news release that the partners intend to do just that: “To ensure the successful completion of this project, we will work closely with the U.S. government and leading local companies to build a systematic supply chain, create and develop high-quality jobs in the U.S., and develop strategies for mutual growth with local communities, ultimately pioneering a new era in the global SMR industry.”
