Doosan Enerbility to manufacture first reactor for America's largest SMR project

Doosan Enerbility will manufacture the first reactor for the United States' largest small modular reactor project.

Doosan Enerbility announced Thursday that it has signed a contract with US-based NuScale Power to manufacture an upper reactor pressure vessel (URPV) module for NuScale's SMR.

The signing ceremony was held Thursday at Doosan Enerbility's headquarters in Changwon and was attended by senior executives from both companies, including NuScale Power Chief Operating Officer Carl Fischer and Doosan Enerbility Nuclear Business Group President Kim Jong-du.

NuScale Power's SMR design was the first in the United States to receive design approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. SMRs are built by manufacturing key components in modular form and assembling them on site, which reduces construction time and cost compared with large conventional nuclear plants. They can generate electricity stably around the clock, and their advantages over large-scale reactors have positioned them as a preferred energy infrastructure solution for AI data centers.

Under the contract, Doosan Enerbility will manufacture the URPV module — the upper section of the reactor pressure vessel that contains high-temperature, high-pressure coolant and is considered a core component of the reactor system.

Doosan Enerbility previously signed a contract with NuScale Power in 2023 to manufacture SMR materials. The new agreement expands the partnership from materials preparation into full-scale commercial reactor component manufacturing.

"This contract marks an important turning point as SMR technology moves from the validation stage to actual manufacturing," Kim said. "Doosan will draw on its accumulated nuclear manufacturing experience to support NuScale's commercial project."

NuScale Power Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins said the agreement represents "meaningful progress in translating an NRC-approved design into deliverable modules." Hopkins added that through Doosan Enerbility's production facilities and the partnership the two companies have built since 2019, "we have secured the manufacturing capacity and process maturity needed to deliver SMRs on the schedule our customers require."