Biden, Iohannis announced the construction of cutting edge civil nuclear technology plant in Romania
US President Joe Biden and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced în Glasgow plans to build a “first-of-a-kind” small modular reactor (SMR) plant in Romania in partnership with U.S. NuScale Power, bringing the latest civil nuclear technology to a critical part of Europe, informs a White House’s press release.
The Partnership will bring SMR technology to Romania, positioning U.S. technology to lead in the global race for SMR deployment.
The commercial agreement will include a 12-module NuScale plant, initially creating over 6000 U.S. and Romanian jobs, including union jobs, with the potential to create 30,000 U.S. and Romanian jobs as the project grows. Deployment of SMR technology will be an important contributor to a decarbonized power sector and net zero future.
A grant agreement in this regard was signed 10 months ago between the Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the National Nuclearelectric Society (SNN), with the former US ambassador to Bucharest, Adrian Zuckerman, noting at the event that this is another step forward in strengthening the bilateral relationship in the field of Energy.
The grant is granted for technical assistance in order to develop “Small Modular Reactor” (SMR) solutions in Romania. The technical assistance provided by the USTDA will support Romania’s efforts to include SMR technology in its national energy strategy. This assistance will identify a short list of places compatible with SMR technology, analyze the options for SMR technology and prepare roadmaps for licensing each selected place. SNN selected Illinois-based Sargent & Lundy for assistance.
The signing took place online with the participation of Cosmin Ghita, General Manager of Nuclearelectrica and Todd Abrajano, General Manager and Operations of USTDA. In this context, the US Ambassador spoke about the bilateral relationship in the field of energy. “Today’s signing of the Nuclearelectrica grant by the US Agency for Trade and Development (USTDA) is a very important step in strengthening bilateral energy cooperation and, more importantly, in Romania’s economic development in the future,” Zuckerman said back then.