NuScale Power is continuing development of its small modular light water reactor (SMR) with a scalable design that can house up to 12 60 megawatts electric (MWe) power modules. Each NuScale power module is a self-contained unit that operates independently within a multi-module configuration.

The small modular reactor design. Source: NuScale PowerThe company has posted some notable engineering milestones in the last year. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed the first and most intensive phase of review for the company’s design certification application. The SMR is also capable of producing 20% more power than originally planned, rendering the reactor more competitive compared to other power generation sources.

The latest design innovation is a safety display and indication system based on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology. The system was engineered by NuScale and Ultra Electronics Energy to display safety-related reactor data in real-time and marks the first use of FPGA technology for nuclear power safety monitoring in the U.S.

Safety-critical plant data and historical data trends are presented in high-resolution, high-fidelity graphics for each of the 12 power modules making up a NuScale plant, with dedicated displays for each reactor. The configurable displays will receive input from NuScale's Module Protection System.

Plant data are documented and displayed without using microprocessors, operating systems or software in the runtime environment, and the innovative design has improved obsolescence tolerance and reduced cybersecurity attack vectors compared to available digital display systems.