Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 34 2021

AsiaElec NUCLEAR AsiaElec

Falling costs of small modular reactors

could make nuclear competitive

ASIA SMALL modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) could and have enhanced safety features.
play a crucial role in meeting Paris Agreement “As more fossil fuel-fired power plants are
emissions reduction targets, increasing the pace retired around the world, brownfield sites and
of the electrification that is a mainstay of the transmission connections could be repurposed
energy transition, Wood Mackenzie said. to be used by SMRs. But capex costs must fall
“Today, over 125 GW of new large-scale 50% to compete with other flexible technolo-
nuclear capacity has been proposed, with China gies,” Sharma said.
being the largest contributor, accounting for a The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for
third of the pipeline. By 2050, the country will a new SMR is currently upwards of $$120 per
account for nearly half of global operational MWh for a typical market in Europe, the US or
nuclear capacity, which is expected to rise by 88% Japan.
from 2020 to hit 685 GW under a 2-degree Cel- It compares well with other flexible supply
sius scenario,” said Wood Mackenzie Asia-Pa- options for renewable energy such as fossil fuel
cific head of markets and transitions Prakash plants with CCS, bioenergy with CCS or hydro-
Sharma.: gen combustion.
However, the cost is key. “Using our pro- SMR costs can fall under $$80/MWh in the
prietary levelised cost of hydrogen model, we 2030s with government support, technology
estimate that if power from an SMR could be innovation and investments.
delivered at $65/MWh, and paired electrolysers China has achieved faster cost declines in
can be run at very high load factors, nuclear-pro- other technologies and could potentially repeat
duced hydrogen could compete with green the success in SMR nuclear.
hydrogen,” he added. Sharma said: “While the concept of SMRs
However, outside China, some countries are has been around for some time, there are only
pushing ahead with phase-out plans as nuclear a handful of them in operation or under con-
power faces high start-up costs and environmen- struction. Around 70 different SMR concepts in
tal opposition. different phases of development are happening
The world needs $2 trillion in capex to build around the world currently.
new power capacity to decarbonise power gener- “The challenge is to scale down the number
ation and keep average temperatures well below of concepts to realise cost reductions in a highly
2 degrees Celsius, Wood Mackenzie estimates. regulated industry.”
As electrification of industry develops and Government support for first-of-a-kind
power demand rises, flexible and affordable dis- design concepts and guaranteed offtake arrange-
patchable sources of power will be essential. ments for early-stage projects will be critical for
SMRs are an option, alongside carbon nuclear to support the full decarbonisation of
capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and power generation.
hydrogen. Sharma said: “SMRs may still be at its infancy,
Typically within the range of 150-450 MW but its potential is endless. They can play a role
in size, SMRs offer a potential solution as they in producing low-carbon hydrogen, which is a
become lower cost, quicker and easier to con- cornerstone of almost all deep decarbonisation
struct, able to be sited in many more locations, scenarios.™

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