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109-579: NuScale Power Corporation is a publicly traded American company that designs and markets small modular reactors (SMRs). It is headquartered in Portland, Oregon . A 50 MWe version of the design was certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January 2023. The current scalable 77 MWe SMR VOYGR design was submitted for NRC review on January 1, 2023, and as of December 2023 was about

218-491: A carbon sequestration coal plant and $ 931 at a gas-fired plant or in excess of $ 1,800 for a gas-fired plant with carbon sequestration (all 2011 dollars). David Mohre, executive director of NRECA 's Energy and Power Division, said SMRs like NuScale's are ideal for rural towns that need small power plants. NuScale power plants are expected to take less time, materials and space to construct than other power sources and can be expanded incrementally to meet growing power needs. With

327-452: A fairness opinion from an independent investment banking firm states that the combination is fair to the shareholders. SPAC Research, an entity running a SPAC database, maintains an underwriter league table which can be sorted by bookrunner volume or other criteria for any year or selection of years. As of January 2021 I-Bankers Securities Inc. stated that it had participated in 132 SPAC IPOs as lead or co-manager since 2004. In

436-448: A merger or an acquisition ; past this deadline the SPAC will dissolve and return assets to its stockholders . In practice, SPAC sponsors often extend the life of a SPAC by making a contribution to the trust account to entice shareholders to vote in favor of a charter amendment that delays the liquidation date. In addition, the target of the acquisition must have a fair market value that

545-413: A moderator (water, graphite , beryllium ...) to slow neutrons and generally use U as fissile material . Most conventional operating reactors are of this type. Fast reactors don't use moderators. Instead they rely on the fuel to absorb fast neutrons . This usually means changing the fuel arrangement within the core, or using different fuels. E.g., Pu is more likely to absorb

654-432: A $ 98 million loan to RoPower Nuclear to support this design study, which would support 400 US jobs. NuScale reactors take 1% of the space of a conventional reactor and generate 77 MWe . The design uses light water for cooling and power generation as in conventional nuclear plants. Water is heated by the nuclear core at the base of the reactor vessel. Heated water flows up the riser, then down over steam generators . As heat

763-519: A SPAC is typically filed with the SEC under an S-1 registration statement (or an F-1 for a foreign private issuer) and is classified by the SEC under SIC code 6770 - Blank Checks . Full disclosure of the SPAC structure, target industries or geographic regions, management team biographies, share ownership, potential conflicts of interest and risk factors are standard material covered in the S-1 registration statement. It

872-401: A SPAC typically receives 20% of the equity in the vehicle at the time of offering, exclusive of the value of the warrants. The equity is usually held in escrow for two to three years, and management normally agrees to purchase warrants or units from the company in a private placement immediately prior to the offering. The proceeds from this sponsor investment (usually equal to between 2% and 8% of

981-592: A below-ground pool to absorb earthquake shocks, with a concrete lid over the pool. In the event that power is lost for normal cooling systems, the water in the pool absorbs heat and boils. The pool stores enough water to safely cool the 77 MWe reactor design core for at least 72 hours without needing manual replenishment. In normal operating conditions the containment vessel pressure is at a near vacuum, which eliminates convection giving simpler heat transfer conditions. This also reduces component corrosion and improves instrumentation reliability. The reactors are installed in

1090-523: A build cost under $ 3 billion. In 2020, DOE approved a $ 1.355 billion cost-share award. As of 2021, 8 cities had withdrawn from CFPP. In July 2021, the proposal was downsized to 6 reactors, and the expected electricity price increased to $ 58/MWh (¢5.8/kWh). In April 2022, Doosan Enerbility was contracted to begin manufacturing power module components for CFPP. Doosan Enerbility expected to reach full-scale production at their plant in Changwon, South Korea , in

1199-669: A business combination in China, have been incorporating a 30/36 month timeline to account for the additional time that it has taken previous similar entities to successfully open their business combinations. Since the 1990s, SPACs have existed in the technology, healthcare, logistics, media, retail and telecommunications industries. Their history began with investment bank GKN Securities , specifically, founders David Nussbaum, Roger Gladstone, and Robert Gladstone, who later founded EarlyBirdCapital with Steve Levine and David Miller (currently managing partner of Graubard Miller law firm) and who developed

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1308-415: A fast neutron than U . Fast reactors can be breeder reactors . These reactors release enough neutrons to transmute non-fissionable elements into fissionable ones. A common use for a breeder reactor is to surround the core by a "blanket" of U , the most easily available isotope. Once the U undergoes a neutron absorption reaction, it becomes Pu , which can be removed from

1417-498: A floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov , in Russia's Far East ( Pevek ) commercially, since 2020. The floating plant is the first of its kind in the world. China's pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor HTR-PM was connected to the grid in 2021. Economic factors of scale mean that nuclear reactors tend to be large, to such an extent that size itself becomes a limiting factor. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster and

1526-658: A high number of the same SMR type, given the still remaining high costs for each SMR. A high market share is thus needed to obtain sufficient orders. In February 2024, the European Commission recognized SMR technology as an important contributor to decarbonization as part of EU Green Deal . In its pathway to reach global net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) considers that worldwide nuclear power should be multiplied by two between 2020 and 2050. Antonio Vaya Soler, an expert from

1635-551: A large water reservoir that can operate without powered pumps. NuScale had agreements to build reactors in Idaho by 2030, but this was cancelled in 2023 due to the estimated cost having increased from $ 3.6 billion to $ 9.3 billion for a 460 MWe power plant. NuScale was founded based on research funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and conducted by a team of nuclear scientists at Oregon State University and

1744-612: A loan to re-hire 60 employees. In October, Fluor Corporation acquired a majority interest in the company for $ 3.5 million and promised almost $ 30 million in working capital. According to The Energy Daily , Fluor's investment saved the company, which had been "financially marooned" by its prior investor. A separate agreement gave Fluor the rights to construct NuScale-based power plants. In August 2012, Rolls-Royce Holdings said it would support NuScale's commercialization efforts and help it obtain funding from DOE's funding opportunity announcement . In December 2012, co-founder Paul G. Lorenzini

1853-413: A lower radioactive inventory per reactor and aim for a higher safety level especially through simplifications and an increased use of passive systems. In contrast, however, various SMR concepts also favour reduced regulatory requirements, for example, with regard to the required degree of redundancy or diversity in safety systems. Some developers even demand that current requirements be waived, for example in

1962-531: A merger with the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Spring Valley Acquisition Corp, raising $ 380 million of investment. NuScale Power Corporation then listed on the New York Stock Exchange . In November 2014, NuScale announced it would build what it expected to be the first US SMR at the Idaho National Laboratory . The plant was for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS),

2071-555: A modular system, allowing customers to simply add modules to achieve a desired electrical output. Small reactors were first designed mostly for military purposes in the 1950s to power ballistic missile submarines and ships ( aircraft carriers and ice breakers ) with nuclear propulsion . The electrical output for modern naval reactors are generally limited to less than 165 MW e and dedicated to powering turboshaft props rather than delivering electricity. In addition, there are many more safety controls absent from naval reactors due to

2180-557: A nuclear power plant, but had evaluated all the available SMR technologies and identified NuScale as the best available option. In July 2013, NuScale announced an effort to demonstrate NuScale reactors in the western United States, called Program WIN (Western Initiative for Nuclear), with plans to build the first NuScale-based power plant there by 2024. In January 2018, the NRC agreed that the passive safety features allow NuScale's SMR design to operate safely without back-up power. In August 2020,

2289-601: A possible future deployment of SMRs in Finland . It also indicates that larger masses (per GWe-year) of SNF and other HLW and larger volumes (per GWe-year) of LLW would be produced by a light water SMR compared to a large NPP. A report by the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) found that extensive interim storage and fuel transports are still required for SMRs. A deep geological repository

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2398-422: A single SPAC IPO garnered $ 36 million, marking a modest start. Over the years, activity increased, peaking in 2021 with 613 IPOs that collectively raised around $ 162 billion, averaging $ 265 million per IPO. A study found that as of the 1st of December 2022, American-listed SPACs that completed their mergers between July 2020 and December 2021 had a mean share price of $ 3.85. This constitutes a fall of over 60% from

2507-572: A subdivision of the State of Utah , on the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP). UAMPS operates power plants in Wyoming, New Mexico, California, and Utah, selling to local utilities. The DOE could provide supporting funds of about $ 140 million/year over 10 years, awaiting more Congressional support. The company submitted designs to the NRC in January 2017 for a 12 reactor power plant producing 570 MWe at

2616-438: A third complete. NuScale's SMR designs employ 9 feet (2.7 m) diameter by 65 feet (20 m) high reactor vessels that use conventional cooling methods and run on low enriched uranium fuel assemblies based on existing light water reactor designs. Each module is intended to be kept in an underground pool and is expected to produce about 77 megawatts of electricity. Its coolant loop uses natural convection , fed from

2725-884: Is a class of small nuclear fission reactor , designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers to the size, capacity and modular construction. Reactor type and the nuclear processes may vary. Of the many SMR designs, the pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the most common. However, recently proposed SMR designs include: generation IV , thermal-neutron reactors , fast-neutron reactors , molten salt , and gas-cooled reactor models. Commercial SMRs have been designed to deliver an electrical power output as low as 5 MW e (electric) and up to 300 MW e per module. SMRs may also be designed purely for desalinization or facility heating rather than electricity. These SMRs are measured in megawatts thermal MW t . Many SMR designs rely on

2834-418: Is aimed to immediately "burn" the fuel that it breeds without requiring its removal from the reactor core and its further reprocessing. The design of some SMR reactors is based on the thorium fuel cycle , which is considered by their promotors as a way to reduce the long-term waste radiotoxicity compared to the uranium cycle. However, using the thorium cycle also presents big operational challenges because of

2943-479: Is believed that the SEC has studied SPACs to determine whether they require special regulations to ensure that these vehicles are not abused as blind pool trusts and blank-check corporations have been over the years. Many believe that SPACs do have corporate governance mechanisms in place to protect shareholders. SPACs listed on the American Stock Exchange are required to be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant at

3052-449: Is equal to at least 80% of the SPAC's net assets at the time of acquisition. Previous SPAC structures required a positive shareholder vote by 80% of the SPAC's public shareholders for the transaction to be consummated . However, current SPAC provisions do not require a shareholder vote for the transaction to be consummated unless as follows: To allow for stockholders of the SPAC to make an informed decision on whether they wish to approve

3161-547: Is fairly simple, and are claimed to have the ability to bypass financial and safety barriers that inhibit the construction of conventional reactors. Working with Oregon State University (OSU), NuScale Power developed the first Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved model for the US market in 2022. As of 2024, only China and Russia have successfully built operational SMRs. There are more than 80 modular reactor designs under development in 19 countries. Russia has been operating

3270-563: Is further divided into two main technologies: the multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) and the Multi-Effect Desalination (MED). A report by the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) considering 136 different historical and current reactors and SMR concepts stated: "Overall, SMRs could potentially achieve safety advantages compared to power plants with a larger power output, as they have

3379-479: Is often elected as a gas coolant for SMRs because it yields a high plant thermal efficiency and supplies a sufficient amount of reactor heat. Sodium , lead , and lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) are liquid metal coolants studied for 4th generation SMRs. There was a large focus on sodium during early work on large-rated reactors which has since carried over to SMRs to be a prominent choice as a liquid metal coolant. SMRs have lower cooling water requirements, which expands

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3488-413: Is presently the case with light water reactors only. As previously stressed by Krall and Macfarlane (2018), some types of SMR spent fuels, or coolants, (highly reactive and corrosive uranium fluoride ( UF 4 ) from molten salt reactors , or pyrophoric sodium from liquid metal cooled fast breeders) cannot be directly disposed of in a deep geologic repository because of their chemical reactivity in

3597-453: Is still unavoidable in any case because of the presence of highly mobile long-lived fission products that, due to their too low neutron cross section , cannot be efficiently transmuted , as it is the case with dose-dominating radionuclides such as I , Tc and Se ( soluble anions that are not sorbed onto the negatively charged minerals and are not retarded in geological media). Nuclear proliferation , or

3706-415: Is to adopt cogeneration , maintaining consistent heat output, while diverting otherwise unneeded heat to an auxiliary use. District heating , desalination and hydrogen production have been proposed as cogeneration options. Overnight desalination requires sufficient freshwater storage capacity to deliver water at times other than when it is produced. Reverse osmosis membrane and thermal evaporators are

3815-482: Is transferred, the water cools and becomes denser, sinking to the bottom of the device, and the cycle is repeated. The heat creates steam that drives a small dedicated turbine generator producing electricity. The first version of the reactor vessel was expected to be 9 feet (2.7 m) in diameter and 65 feet (20 m) tall, weighing 650 short tons (590 metric tons). The modules are pre-fabricated, delivered by rail , barge or truck and assembled on-site. As of 2021,

3924-401: The Idaho National Laboratory . beginning in 2000. Oregon State's nuclear department had been developing passive water-circulation techniques for cooling in nuclear plants. DOE funded the research from 2000 to 2003. The Oregon State team continued their work building a one-third scale test lab, while inheriting related patents from the university in 2007, in exchange for an equity stake. NuScale

4033-466: The London Stock Exchange AIM exchange. These SPACs do not have the aforementioned voting thresholds. Since the financial crisis, protections for common shareholders have been implemented, allowing stockholders to vote in favor of a deal and still redeem their shares for a pro-rata share of the trust account. (This is significantly different from the blind pool – blank check companies of

4142-594: The NuScale reactor company. One of the main concerns Krall expressed in this interview is that: The critical study of Krall et al. (2022) has the merit to have raised relevant questions that cannot be ignored by reactor designers, or decision-makers, and to have triggered open and fresh discussions on important outcomes for SMRs and radwaste management in general. Amongst the various types of SMR projects initiated today by many start-up companies, only those correctly addressing these questions and really contributing to minimize

4251-605: The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), agrees that although renewable energy is essential to fight global warming , it will not be sufficient to achieve net zero CO 2 emissions and nuclear energy capacity should be at least doubled. To produce the same electrical power as the ~ 400 large nuclear power reactors in the world today, BASE, the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management, warns that it would be necessary to build several thousands to tens of thousands of SMRs. Several fleets of SMRs of exactly

4360-716: The "poor man's private equity funds ." The majority of companies pursuing SPACs do so on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange in the US, although other exchanges, such as the Euronext Amsterdam , Singapore Exchange , and Hong Kong Stock Exchange have also overseen a small volume of SPAC deals. Despite the popularity and growth in the number of SPACs, academic analysis shows investor returns on SPAC companies post-merger are almost uniformly negative, although investors in SPACs and merged companies may earn excess returns immediately after

4469-554: The 1980s, which were a form of limited partnership that did not specify what investment opportunities the company plans to pursue.) The assets of the trust are only released if a business combination is approved by the voting shareholders, or a business combination is not consummated within the amount of time allowed by a company's articles of incorporation. The SPAC is usually led by a management team composed of three or more members with prior private equity , mergers and acquisitions , and/or operating experience. The management team of

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4578-473: The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster caused a major set-back for the nuclear industry, with worldwide suspension of development, cutting down of funding, and closure of reactor plants. In response, researchers at Oregon State University developed the first commercial SMR prototypes in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A radically different reactor than the one used by the military, OSU's SMR design decreased fabrication time, improved operational safety, and reduced

4687-454: The DOE and IRA support, leaving $ 5.1 billion of acquisition and construction costs to be covered by UAMPS members. In November 2023, UAMPS announced it was unlikely that the project would have enough subscription to continue due to cost increases, and UAMPS and NuScale jointly decided to cancel the project. POWER magazine reported that the project had received $ 232 million of DOE financial support by

4796-512: The NRC issued a final safety evaluation report, certifying the design as having met safety requirements. In November 2021, NuScale announced its intent to build with Nuclearelectrica its first reactors in Romania by 2028. In February 2022, NuScale and mining conglomerate KGHM announced a contract to construct an SMR in Poland by 2029. In April 2023, an application for a decision-in-principle to permit

4905-455: The SPAC market faced challenges with only 31 IPOs due to higher interest rates and stricter financial policies. However, there were signs of stabilization towards the year's end. The total raised was $ 3.8 billion, with an average IPO size of $ 124.1 million, and 98 mergers were completed. A slight improvement in initial trading performance by December suggested a potential stabilization, with IPOs closing slightly above their expected values, offering

5014-452: The SPAC market shrank significantly, with only 86 SPAC IPOs compared to 613 in 2021, reflecting more challenging economic conditions and increased regulatory scrutiny. Total funds raised dropped to $ 13.4 billion from $ 162.5 billion in 2021, and the average IPO size decreased from $ 265.1 million to $ 156.1 million. Despite these challenges, 103 merger deals were completed, illustrating ongoing difficulties in securing successful mergers. In 2023,

5123-507: The SPAC's performance. By market convention, 85% to 100% of the proceeds raised in the IPO for the SPAC are held in trust to be used at a later date for the merger or acquisition. A SPAC's trust account can only be used to fund a shareholder-approved business combination or to return capital to public shareholders at a charter extension or business combination approval meeting. Each SPAC has its own liquidation window within which it must complete

5232-532: The U.S. Department of Energy reported that it had provided more than $ 400 million since 2014 to support the NuScale development and that of other earlier stage domestic SMR designs. In December 2021, the Fluor Corporation reported that it had invested over $ 600 million in NuScale since 2011, and that NuScale was expected to go public in 2022 with Fluor owning about 60% of the stock. In May 2022, NuScale completed

5341-553: The U.S. The first German SPAC was Germany1 Acquisition Ltd., which raised $ 437.2 million at Euronext Amsterdam with Deutsche Bank and I-Bankers Securities as underwriters. Loyens & Loeff served as legal counsels in The Netherlands . In March 2021, a report prepared by Lord Hill for the Chancellor of Exchequer recommended a series of changes to London company listing rules to make them more favorable to SPAC listings. Among

5450-451: The amount being raised in the public offering) are placed in the trust and distributed to public stockholders in the event of liquidation. No salaries, finder's fees, or other cash compensation are paid to the management team prior to the business combination, and the management team does not participate in a liquidating distribution if it fails to consummate a successful business combination. In many cases, management teams agree to pay for

5559-477: The amount of spent fuel per kilowatt, and as much as 35× for other waste produced by neutron activation , such as activated steel and graphite . These authors have identified the neutron leakage as the first issue for SMRs because they have a higher surface area with respect to their core volume. They have calculated that the neutron leakage rates are much higher for SMRs, because in smaller reactor cores, emitted neutrons have fewer chances to interact with

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5668-410: The area of internal accident management or with reduced planning zones, or even a complete waiver of external emergency protection planning. Since the safety of a reactor plant depends on all of these factors, based on the current state of knowledge it is not possible to state, that a higher safety level is achieved by SMR concepts in principle." Negative temperature coefficients in the moderators and

5777-416: The business combination, the company must make full disclosure to stockholders of the target business, including complete audited financials, and terms of the proposed business combination via an SEC merger proxy statement. All common share stockholders of the SPAC are granted voting rights at a shareholder meeting to approve or reject the proposed business combination. A number of SPACs have also been placed on

5886-486: The cost of operation. The goal, of course, was to make it easier for commercial and public entities to afford a traditionally cost-prohibitive form of energy. Credited as the inventor of the commercial SMR, OSU researchers believed the smaller form factor and modular design would allow manufacturers to swap economies-of-unit-scale for economies-of-unit-mass-production - lowering production costs and improving manufacturing efficiency. NuScale Power partnered with OSU to become

5995-480: The design to the current 77 MWe design expected to be deployed; this version was resubmitted to the NRC in January 2023 for standard design approval of a six reactor configuration called US460. In its acceptance review of the application, the NRC identified a number of sufficiency issues in the application, and requested supplemental information be supplied before NRC staff could accept the application for docketing and detailed technical review. The supplemental information

6104-405: The dilutive impacts of compensation and securities issuances. These developments aim to enhance transparency and integrity within the SPAC ecosystem, reflecting a cautious approach to regulation without fundamentally altering existing practices. Warren commended the SEC on the new rules. According to an industry study published in January 2019, from 2004 through 2018, approximately $ 49.14 billion

6213-441: The existing framework. Critical updates include maintaining the current stance on SPACs under the '40 Act and the definition of banks as underwriters while refining the criteria for forward-looking statements by redefining "blank check company" and eliminating one safe harbor provision. Additionally, the SEC has encouraged more realistic management projections for DeSPAC transactions and required detailed disclosures on board votes and

6322-467: The expenses in excess of the trusts if there is a liquidation of the SPAC because no target has been found. Conflicts of interest are minimized within the SPAC structure because all management teams agree to offer suitable prospective target businesses to the SPAC before any other acquisition fund, subject to pre-existing fiduciary duties. The SPAC is further prohibited from consummating a business combination with any entity affiliated with an insider, unless

6431-416: The first commercial land-based, 125 MW e demonstration reactor ACP100 (Linglong One) is due to start in China by the end of 2026. To cope with the 2050 targets of net zero CO 2 emissions without wasting time, a rapid and massive deployment of a large number of SMRs (several thousands to tens of thousands of units) is critical and represents an unprecedented challenge for the nuclear industry,

6540-561: The first to apply this manufacturing strategy starting in 2006 Proponents claim that SMRs would be less expensive due to the application of standardized modules that could be industrially produced off-site in a dedicated factory. SMRs do, however, also have economic disadvantages. Several studies suggest that the overall costs of SMRs are comparable with those of conventional large reactors. Moreover, extremely limited information about SMR modules transportation has been published. Critics say that modular building will only be cost-effective for

6649-578: The fissile atoms present in the fuel and to produce nuclear fission. Instead, neutrons exit the reactor core without interacting with the nuclear fuel, and they are absorbed outside the core by the materials used for the neutron reflectors and the shielding (thermal and gamma shields), turning them as radioactive waste ( activated steel and graphite ). Reactor designs using liquid metal coolants (molten sodium, lead, lead-bismuth eutectic, LBE) also become radioactive and contains activated impurities. Another issue pinpointed by Krall et al. (2022) related to

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6758-540: The fuels keep the fission reactions under control, causing the reaction to slow as temperature increases. After the shutdown of a nuclear reactor, the reactor needs to be cooled continuously in order to dissipate decay heat. A loss of emergency cooling such as in the Fukushima nuclear accident and the Three Mile Island accident can result in a nuclear meltdown when the temperature in the reactor becomes too high. Since

6867-626: The higher neutron leakage in SMR is that a lower fraction of their nuclear fuel is consumed, leading to a lower burnup and to more fissile materials left over in their spent fuel , therefore increasing the waste volume. To sustain the nuclear chain reactions in the core of a smaller reactor, an alternative is to use nuclear fuel more enriched in U . This could increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and could require more stringent safeguard measures to prevent it (see also IAEA safeguards ). If higher concentrations of fissile materials subsist in

6976-442: The initial decay heat is a fraction of the reactor operating power, the lower operating power of SMRs makes them much safer since less heat needs to be dissipated. Some SMR designs proposes cooling systems only based on thermoconvection – natural circulation – to eliminate cooling pumps that could break down. Convection can keep removing decay heat after reactor shutdown. However, some SMRs may need an active cooling system to back up

7085-498: The largest SPACs of 2018, with $ 690mm each in IPO proceeds. In 2019, 59 SPAC IPO's raised $ 13.6 billion. Nearly 250 SPACs raised more than $ 83 billion in 2020. In the first month of 2021 there were 75 SPACs. In a March 2020 event, Allison Lee , acting chair of the SEC , said that the "investment returns don't match the hype surrounding the SPAC bubble." From 2009 to 2024, the landscape of SPAC IPOs has seen considerable variance. In 2009,

7194-424: The letter "u" (for unit) appended to the ticker symbol of SPAC shares. Trading liquidity of the SPAC's securities provide investors with a flexible exit strategy. In addition, the public currency enhances the position of the SPAC when negotiating a business combination with a potential merger or acquisition target. The common share price must be added to the trading price of the warrants to get an accurate picture of

7303-467: The merger. Proliferation of SPACs usually accelerates around periods of economic bubbles, such as the " everything bubble " between 2020 and 2021. SPACs generally trade as units or as separate common shares and warrants on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange (as of 2008) once the public offering has been declared effective by the SEC, distinguishing the SPAC from a blank check company formed under SEC Rule 419 . Commonly, units are denoted with

7412-582: The need for a deep geological repository to dispose of high-level and long-lived radioactive waste. This is especially the case for companies studying fast neutron reactors of 4th generation (molten salts reactors, metal-cooled reactors ( sodium-cooled fast reactor , or lead-cooled fast reactor ). Fast breeder reactors "burn" U (0.7% of natural uranium ), but also convert fertile materials such as U (99.3% of natural uranium) into fissile Pu that can be used as nuclear fuel. The traveling wave reactor proposed by TerraPower

7521-454: The notion of SMR encompasses a broad spectrum of nuclear reactor types, no simple answer can be easily given to the question. SMR may comprise small light water reactors of third generation as well as small fast neutron reactors of fourth generation. Often, the startup companies developing unconventional SMR prototypes advocate waste reduction as an advantage of the proposed solution and even sometimes claim that their technology could eliminate

7630-444: The nuclear industry contends that smaller size will make SMRs even safer than larger conventional plants. This is because the main problem associated with nuclear meltdowns is the decay heat that is present after reactor shutdown, which would be much lower for SMRs because of their lower power output. Critics say that many more small nuclear reactors pose a higher risk, requiring more transportation of nuclear fuel and also increasing

7739-738: The number of sites where a SMR could be built, including remote areas typically incorporating mining and desalination . Some gas-cooled reactor designs could drive a gas turbine , rather than boiling water, such that thermal energy can be used directly. Heat could also be used in hydrogen production and other industrial operations, such as desalination and the production of petroleum derivative (extracting oil from oil sands , making synthetic oil from coal , etc.). SMR designs are generally expected to provide base load electrical power; some proposed designs are aimed to adjust their power output based on electricity demand. Another approach, especially for SMRs designed to provide high temperature heat,

7848-428: The passive system, increasing cost. Some SMR designs feature an integral design of which the primary reactor core, steam generator and the pressurizer are integrated within the sealed reactor vessel. This integrated design allows for the reduction of a possible accident as contamination leaks could be contained. In comparison to larger reactors having numerous components outside the reactor vessel, this feature increases

7957-670: The prestigious PNAS journal has attracted many reactions ranging from criticisms on the quality of their data and hypotheses to international debates on radioactive waste produced by SMRs and their decommissioning. In an interview with François Diaz-Maurin, the associate editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists , Lindsay Krall, the lead author of the study and a former MacArthur postdoctoral fellow at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) answered to questions and criticisms, amongst others, those raised by

8066-521: The production and the use of U and long-lived fertile U , both radioisotopes emitting strong gamma rays . So, the presence of these radionuclides seriously complicates the radiation shielding of the fresh nuclear fuel and the long-term storage and disposal of their spent nuclear fuel. A study of 2022 made by Krall, Macfarlane and Ewing is more critical and reports that some types of SMR could produce more waste per unit of output power than conventional reactors, in some cases more than 5×

8175-500: The production of radioactive waste . SMRs require new designs with new technology, the safety of which has yet to be proven. Until 2020, no truly modular SMRs had been commissioned for commercial use. In May 2020, the first prototype of a floating nuclear power plant with two 30 MW e reactors – the type KLT-40 – started operation in Pevek , Russia. This concept is based on the design of nuclear icebreakers . The operation of

8284-449: The project was submitted to the Polish government. On 28 December 2022, Romanian company RoPower Nuclear contracted for Front-End Engineering and Design. The location is expected to be Doicesti. RoPower is a joint venture between Nuclearelectrica and Nove Power & Gas. In January 2023, the NRC certified NuScale's 50 MWe design for use in the US. However this was for an earlier version of

8393-508: The proliferation resistance, such as those from the reactor design company Gen4. These models of SMR offer a solution capable of operating sealed underground for the life of the reactor following installation. Special-purpose acquisition company In the U.S., SPACs are registered with the SEC and considered publicly traded companies. The general public may buy their shares on stock exchanges before any merger or acquisition takes place. For this reason they have at times been referred to as

8502-433: The proliferation risks. Once the fuel has been irradiated , the mixture of fission products and fissile materials is highly radioactive and requires special handling, preventing casual theft. Contrasting to conventional large reactors, SMRs can be adapted to be installed in a sealed underground chamber; therefore, "reducing the vulnerability of the reactor to a terrorist attack or a natural disaster". New SMR designs enhance

8611-526: The radioactive waste they produce have a chance to be supported by the public and governmental organisations (nuclear safety authorities and radioactive waste management organisations) and their research to be funded by long-term national policies. The high diversity of SMR reactors and their respective fuel cycles may also require more diverse waste management strategy to recycle, or to safely dispose, their nuclear waste. A larger number of spent fuel types will be more difficult to manage than only one type as it

8720-477: The reactor during refueling, and subsequently reprocessed and used as fuel. Conventional light-water reactors typically use water as a coolant and neutron moderator. SMRs may use water, liquid metal , gas and molten salt as coolants. Coolant type is determined based on the reactor type, reactor design, and the chosen application. Large-rated reactors primarily use light water as coolant, allowing for this cooling method to be easily applied to SMRs. Helium

8829-406: The reactor pool in individual bays separated by concrete walls. For refueling the entire reactor is moved underwater through a transfer channel to a connected pool which has the refueling equipment. There is also an extra reactor bay for maintenance or possible storage of a spare module. At a 12-reactor plant the bays are arranged in two rows of six reactors with the transfer channel centrally between

8938-686: The report's proposals is to reduce the percentage of shares that must be offered to the public from 25% to 15%. On March 18, 2022, Aquila Acquisition Corp debuted on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). The IPO received lukewarm reception by investors, with shares down 3% in the two-week period post-IPO. Despite this decrease, there is a high demand for SPAC public offerings in Hong Kong, with HKEX reporting that they have received applications for 11 additional SPAC IPOs. Emerging market focused SPACs, particularly those seeking to consummate

9047-485: The rows. NuScale is expected to be the first US SMR to market, because it is similar to the systems used in conventional power plants. The company estimates a twelve-unit NuScale plant would cost $ 4,200 (an earlier estimate was $ 5,000) per kilowatt. In comparison, the Energy Information Administration in 2013 estimated overnight costs to be $ 4,700 per kilowatt for conventional nuclear power, $ 4,600 for

9156-462: The safety authorities, and the civil society (acceptance by the public, the politicians, and the governments in the larger countries), in the short time frame considered. SMRs are envisioned in multiple designs. Some are simplified versions of current reactors, others involve entirely new technologies. All proposed SMRs use nuclear fission with designs including thermal-neutron reactors and fast-neutron reactors . Thermal-neutron reactors rely on

9265-402: The safety by decreasing the risks of an uncontained accident. Some SMR designs also envisage to install the reactor and the spent-fuel storage pools underground. The backend of the nuclear fuel cycle of SMR is a complex and challenging issue remaining disputed. The quantity and the radiotoxicity of the radioactive waste produced by SMR mainly depend on their design and the related fuel cycle. As

9374-576: The safety evaluation report be issued and the reactor be certified. NuScale has offices in Portland, Oregon ; Corvallis, Oregon ; Charlotte, North Carolina ; and Rockville, Maryland . Its headquarters are in Portland, while its factory is in Corvallis. It maintains a test facility at Oregon State University and Italy. The company is publicly traded as SMR on the New York Stock Exchange . Small modular reactor The small modular reactor ( SMR )

9483-539: The same type, industrially manufactured in large numbers, should be rapidly deployed worldwide to significantly reduce emissions of CO 2 . The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) launched at COP 28 an initiative Accelerating SMRs for Net Zero to foster collaboration between research organizations, nuclear industry, safety authorities, and governments, in order to reduce carbon emissions to net zero before 2050 to limit global surface temperature increase. Proponents say that nuclear energy with proven technology can be safer;

9592-405: The second half of 2023. In January 2023, CFPP approved a new Budget and Plan of Finance, establishing a target price of $ 89/MWh (¢8.9/kWh) after an estimated $ 30/MWh generation subsidy from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The projected build cost had increased to $ 9.3 billion for 462 MWe generation capacity from $ 3.6 billion for 720 MWe in 2020. $ 4.2 billion of the cost would be covered by

9701-463: The space limitations these reactors were designed for. Modular reactors are expected to reduce on-site construction and increase containment efficiency. These reactors are also expected to enhance safety by using passive safety features that do not require human intervention, although this is not specific to SMRs but rather a characteristic of most modern reactor designs. SMRs are also claimed to have lower power plant staffing costs, as their operation

9810-402: The spent fuel, the critical mass needed to sustain a nuclear chain reaction is also lower. As a direct consequence, the number of spent fuels present in a waste canister will also be lower and a larger number of canisters and overpacks will be necessary to avoid criticality accidents and to guarantee nuclear criticality safety in a deep geological repository. This also contributes to increase

9919-445: The standard $ 10 per share that SPAC shareholders could have received if they redeemed their shares. The study also found that “ The average post-merger SPAC during this period underperformed the average traditional IPO by 26%. ” Another study, focusing on a longer timeframe of U.S. SPACs from December 2012 until June 2021 found average stock price decreases of 14.1% after 1 year of the merger announcement and 18% after 2 years. In 2022,

10028-730: The steam generators internal to the movable steel reactor assembly, the SMR does not have a large concrete secondary containment building as used in large PWRs. There is a single control room for up to 12 reactors. One disadvantage of the design is that the reactors lie in a large pool of water, for emergency cooling, and this pool requires much more reinforced concrete per MWe produced than a conventional nuclear reactor building, adding considerably to cost. New Scientist reported peer‑reviewed analysis from Stanford University that assessed nuclear waste production from SMR reactors and concluded that "SMR performed worse on nearly all of our metrics compared to standard commercial reactors". The results of

10137-445: The study were rejected by NuScale as based on outdated information. Potential SMR competitors include Babcock & Wilcox , GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy , Gen4 Energy , Holtec International , Intellectual Ventures , OPEN100 , Westinghouse Electric Company , and X-energy . In March 2020, a panel of independent experts from the NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) claimed to find reactor design flaws. The main issue

10246-454: The template. The success of SPACs in building equity value for their shareholders has drawn interest from investors such as Bill Ackman who had backed three SPACs as of 2015, including the SPAC that took Burger King public. *As of 16 May 2024 In the US the SPAC public offering structure is governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A public offering for

10355-508: The time it was cancelled. Following the cancellation, NuScale laid off 154 of its staff (28%) as part of "taking steps to transition from R&D to commercialization". In March 2012, NuScale signed an agreement with DOE that allowed NuScale and two partners to build and operate a NuScale-based nuclear power plant at a Savannah River site in South Carolina . The following month, Energy Northwest said it had no immediate plans to construct

10464-563: The time of the offering, including such mandatory requirements as a majority of the board of directors being independent , and having audit and compensation committees . In 2022, Elizabeth Warren released a report showing that Wall Street insiders were using SPACs in ways that harmed investors, and called for regulations to curb the abuse. On January 24th, 2024, the SEC unveiled new rules for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), introducing clarifications to enhance regulatory transparency and integrity without significantly altering

10573-440: The total waste volume and the number of disposal galleries in a geological repository. Given the potential technical and economical importance of SMRs to supply zero-carbon electrical energy needed to fight climate change and the long-term and social relevance of the study to adequately manage and dispose of radioactive waste without imposing a negative burden onto the future generations, the publication of Krall et al. (2022) in

10682-443: The two main techniques for seawater desalination. The membrane desalination process uses only electricity to power water pumps and is the most employed of the two methods. In the thermal process, the feed water stream is evaporated in different stages with continuous decreases in pressure between the stages. The thermal process directly uses thermal energy and avoids the conversion of thermal power into electricity. Thermal desalination

10791-541: The underground environment (deep clay formations, crystalline rocks, or rock salt ). To avoid to exacerbate spent fuel storage and disposal issues it will be mandatory to reprocess and to condition them in an appropriate and safe way before final geological disposal. A study made by Keto et al. (2022) at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland also addressed the management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW) from

10900-405: The units are expected to produce 77 MWe (gross), or about 73.5 MWe (net), and require refueling with standard 4.95 percent low-enriched uranium-235 fuel every two years. NuScale's design does not rely on powered water pumps or circulatory equipment. The original 50 MWe reactor was designed to shut down and cool itself indefinitely during most accidents. The devices are intended to be installed in

11009-527: The use of nuclear materials to create weapons, is a concern for small modular reactors. As SMRs have lower generation capacity and are physically smaller, they are intended to be deployed in many more locations than conventional plants. SMRs are expected to substantially reduce staffing levels. The combination creates physical protection and security concerns. SMRs can be designed to use unconventional fuels allowing for higher burnup and longer fuel cycles. Longer refueling intervals could contribute to decrease

11118-515: The years leading up to 2021, bulge bracket banks started participating in more SPAC IPOs, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co . and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. on the cover of 30 SPAC IPOs from 2015 to August 2019. Citigroup, Credit Suisse , Goldman Sachs , and BofA have all built a significant SPAC practice, while Cantor Fitzgerald led all SPAC underwriters in 2019 by book-running 14 SPACs that raised over US$ 3.08 billion in IPO proceeds. In July 2007, Pan-European Hotel Acquisition Company N.V.

11227-543: Was founded that year. Its first funding round came in January 2008. It began seeking certification with the NRC in February 2008. By 2011, NuScale had raised $ 35 million and had 100 employees in Portland; Richland, Washington; and Corvallis, Oregon. NuScale was the first to submit small reactor plans to the NRC and the first to gain approval. It was evaluated by a consortium of utility companies called Energy Northwest . In January 2011, NuScale's largest investor, Kenwood Group,

11336-464: Was investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and later pleaded guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme . The SEC investigation was not related to Kenwood's dealings with NuScale, but Kenwood's assets were frozen just as NuScale was expecting additional funding. The company started making staffing and pay cuts as executives looked for new funding sources and most of the company's employees were laid off. That September, NuScale obtained

11445-440: Was raised across 332 SPAC IPOs in the US. In that period, 2018 was the largest year for SPAC issuance since 2007, with 46 SPAC IPOs raising approximately $ 10.74 billion. SPACs seeking an acquisition in the energy sector raised $ 1.4bn in 2018, after raising a record $ 3.9bn in 2017. NASDAQ was the most common listing exchange for SPACs in 2018, with 34 SPACs raising $ 6.4bn. GS Acquisition Holdings Corp. and Churchill Capital Corp. raised

11554-621: Was replaced by John Hopkins as CEO. It was not funded in the first DOE's round. In the second round in December 2013, NuScale won up to $ 226 million in "cost-sharing" funding to share the expense of obtaining government approval, through the SMR Licensing Technical Support program. This was followed by an agreement in May 2014 for up to $ 217 million in funding over a five-year period, whereby DOE would match private funding. In September 2020,

11663-518: Was supplied in July 2023, and the NRC estimated the evaluation would be complete in July 2025. On 25 July 2024, RoPower Nuclear and Fluor Corporation signed the second stage Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED 2) contract, for the planned SMR project in Romania which will provide updated cost estimate and other analysis for a final investment decision. The Export–Import Bank of the United States approved

11772-470: Was that in the event of an emergency shutdown condensed steam returning to the reactor vessel would be low in boron and might not absorb enough neutrons . NuScale modified its design to ensure that more boron would spread to the returning water. ACRS was concerned that operators could accidentally add deboronated water to the core. The panel found other problems: the steam generator could be prone to damaging vibrations. However, on 29 July ACRS recommended that

11881-460: Was the first SPAC offering listed on the Euronext Amsterdam, raising approximately €115 million. I-Bankers Securities has been the underwriter with CRT Capital Group as lead-underwriter. That listing on NYSE Euronext (Amsterdam) was followed by Liberty International Acquisition Company, raising €600 million in January 2008. Liberty is the third largest SPAC in the world and the largest outside

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