BWRX-300 Completes Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment in the United Kingdom

The GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) has successfully completed Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA). This was reported by the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales.

The two-step GDA began in January 2024 with a year-long initiation phase, during which regulators worked closely with GE Vernova Hitachi to establish a robust foundation for the GDA.

Step 2, which began in December 2024, has seen regulators complete a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the BWRX-300 reactor design. This phase has focused on evaluating the fundamental adequacy of the design and its nuclear and radiation safety, security, safeguards (in the context of nuclear non-proliferation) and environmental protection documentation.

The planned program of assessment activities has now concluded with the issue of two GDA statements that set out our regulatory conclusions on the BWRX-300 design and its supporting documentation. Regulators have confirmed that their assessment has identified no fundamental safety, security, safeguards or environmental protection shortfalls with the design that could prevent its deployment in the United Kingdom.

Currently, there are no plans to deploy the BWRX-300 design in the United Kingdom, and no sites have been identified for its deployment. Should an organization wish to progress plans to deploy the BWRX-300 design, the regulators would need to undertake a detailed design assessment before construction could begin and environmental permits could be issued.

Additional information: The Generic Design Assessment (GDA) is a voluntary and non-mandatory process conducted by the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales. The GDA is used by the nuclear regulators to assess new nuclear power station designs at an early stage of the regulatory process and to provide confidence that these new designs can be constructed, operated, and decommissioned in the United Kingdom.