Alabama site chosen for USNC reactor factory

Factors including site suitability and infrastructure, skilled workforce availability, and overall project economics were taken into account during the search process, which spanned 16 states and hundreds of potential sites, the company said.

The highly automated MMR Assembly Plant - or MAP - will employ 250 professional and technical workers when operational, with potential for expansion. There is also "high potential" for USNC suppliers to establish a local presence, creating further opportunities for local growth, the company noted.

Ted Coulter, USNC plant director for the MMR factory, noted Gadsden's skilled workforce, outstanding training programmes and support. "In Gadsden, I have confidence we can hire local talent and operate with both safety and efficiency. We are looking forward to becoming a member of the community," he said.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said the state is home to an "impressive array" of highly innovative companies, making it the "ideal" location for the plant. "This unique facility will benefit the Gadsden community through a significant investment and the creation of good jobs, while also reinforcing Alabama's reputation for cutting-edge manufacturing operations," she said.

The site selected for the MAP facility is adjacent to the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport.

The 578,000 square foot (nearly 54,000 square metres) factory will feature state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing processes and equipment and will be capable of producing up to ten complete MMR nuclear units per year, and will mark the establishment of an advanced nuclear manufacturing hub in Gadsden and the surrounding region, USNC said. The plant - described by USNC as the USA's first commercial-scale microreactor production facility - is slated to be operational in 2027.

The MMR is a 15 MW thermal, 5 MW electrical high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, using TRISO fuel in prismatic graphite blocks and with a sealed, transportable core. The company is currently working on deployment projects at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' Chalk River site in Ontario, Canada, and at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the USA.