Blue Energy, GE Vernova take gas-plus-nuclear collaboration to next stage

In May, Blue Energy - a vertically integrated deployment platform for financeable, turnkey nuclear power plants compatible with leading reactor technology - announced it was joining up with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) to collaborate on the project, which will see Blue Energy power a data centre using an initial 1 GW of power supplied by using two GE Vernova gas turbines. A further 1.5 GW of power from up to five GVH BWRX-300 small modular reactors will then be added. 

The newly announced agreement advances engineering design, licensing, and safety analysis of the project to deploy both GE Vernova 7HA.02 gas turbines and BWRX-300 SMRs at Victoria, Texas, subject to a final investment decision in 2027.

Blue Energy calls its integrated approach to prefabrication, transportation, and assembly the “Blue Way”. Building on the standardised, modular design of the BWRX-300, it supports execution certainty by enhancing schedule, costs and project delivery predictability through innovative logistics, off-site fabrication and super modules assembly, it says.

“This agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi keeps Blue Energy confidently moving forward to build our nuclear energy production line that will unlock the promise of abundant nuclear energy,” Blue Energy CEO and co-founder Jake Jurewicz said. “We are shifting from the old way of building large reactor nuclear power to instead do it the 'Blue Way' that slashes costs and time to power and finally makes nuclear a financeable, repeatable product.”

“Meeting the surging demand for electricity requires proven, scalable technologies and the ability to bring them together as integrated solutions,” said Eric Gray, CEO of GE Vernova’s Power segment. “Our work with Blue Energy combines GE Vernova’s flagship HA gas turbine technology with GE Vernova Hitachi’s advanced nuclear SMR technology, while supporting Blue Energy's innovative project model. Together, we are establishing a blueprint for deploying reliable baseload power at the scale and speed customers need.”

The first BWRX-300 is currently under construction at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade.