Holtec Britain supported to reach key milestone in record time on delivery of small modular reactor in the UK

Mott MacDonald helps Holtec Britain to complete first step of Generic Design Assessment

Mott MacDonald, the global engineering, management and development consultancy, has supported Holtec Britain to complete the first step of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for its small modular reactor SMR-300 in record time.

The GDA is a voluntary process adopted by technology vendors to de-risk new nuclear reactor designs for future project stages. The process allows UK independent nuclear regulators – the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales – to assess the safety, security, and environmental implications of new reactor designs and to provide the confidence that designs will meet the UK's statutory regulatory requirements.

Mott MacDonald supported Holtec Britain throughout the GDA process to complete in 10 months – 15% faster than anticipated and as much as 65% faster than any previous GDA. Having previously supported Holtec Britain to secure a match-funded £60M grant funding from the UK Government’s Future Nuclear Enabling Fund for the GDA, Mott MacDonald has been providing safety, engineering, environmental and regulatory support to Holtec Britain throughout the GDA process. The fully integrated team has participated in more than 200 engagements with the UK regulators to date.

Commenting on the accomplishment, Dr Ming Tan, SMR portfolio lead at Mott MacDonald, said: “This is a huge stride forward. One of the reasons for the successful completion of the Step 1 GDA in record time is down to the team’s dedication and meticulous preparation. Mott MacDonald’s significant experience from previous GDAs and understanding of the UK context and regulatory expectation made this possible.”

James Binn, head of licensing for Holtec Britain, said: “Successful completion of Step 1 of the GDA is our most significant milestone to date on the journey to deployment of Holtec's SMR-300 in the UK. This achievement reflects the resolute determination and commitment of the whole team, with Mott MacDonald performing a pivotal role.”

The SMR-300 design will now enter the second step of the GDA process, which involves fundamental technical assessment by the UK regulators. This is the first ever two-step GDA, marking a major milestone towards Holtec Britain’s ambition of deploying a fleet of SMRs in the UK by 2050 to bring reliable and affordable electricity and heat to UK households, businesses, and industrial users, with first operation planned for the early 2030s.

SMRs are nuclear fission reactors designed to be built at a smaller size, but in larger numbers than the world’s current nuclear fleet. They are cost competitive and considered to be more versatile, scalable, sustainable, financeable and efficient. With wider-ranging applications such as generation of industrial heat and hydrogen production, SMRs are well placed to help the UK government achieve its ambition of generating 24GWe of nuclear capacity by 2050.

Roughly the size of two football fields, with production capacity of 300MWe per unit, Holtec’s SMR-300 is a first-of-its-kind advanced SMR, offering safe, reliable, and economical carbon-free power.