NuScale, NTS sign Equipment Qualification Test Chamber agreement

The business collaboration agreement means the Equipment Qualification (EQ) Test Chamber will be developed by NTS at its facility in Huntsville, Alabama, in the USA, to "ultimately support critical testing for equipment ... under a schedule to enable timely delivery of NuScale Power Modules to customers by 2027".

NTS has more than four decades experience of working in the nuclear sector, including safety relief valve testing, repair services and fuels and fluid testing. It has also worked with NASA's Apollo 11 and Artemis space programmes as well as the ITER fusion reactor, which is under construction in France.

The NuScale Power Module, a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single 77 MWe unit, is the first SMR design to receive approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A 12-module VOYGR-12 power plant is capable of generating 924 MWe; the company also offers four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe) and six-module VOYGR-6 (462 MWe) power plants, as well as other configurations based on customer needs.

Scott Bailey, vice president, supply chain at NuScale, said: "This collaboration agreement marks yet another milestone in our company’s progress towards global deployment of our leading SMR technology. With NTS's expertise in nuclear-related testing and engineering along with NuScale's innovative design, the two companies will demonstrate compliance with all industry requirements during equipment qualification."

Brad Ferguson, NTS’s director of strategic development, nuclear division, said: "NTS is honoured that NuScale chose NTS in partnership to shape the future of the nuclear energy industry. We look forward to strengthening the industry alongside NuScale as we push the bounds of technology together."