The agreement was signed during the NExSMR conference, which was held from 14-16 January in The Hague.
"ULC-Energy is delighted with the collaboration with Bureau Veritas," said ULC-Energy CEO Dirk Rabelink. "Developing nuclear energy projects is a long-term process and stable, complementary and long-term collaborations are crucial to our success. Our collaboration with Bureau Veritas brings another highly capable and experienced party to our delivery model."
Pim Reuderink, Regional Technical Manager of Bureau Veritas, added: "Having a serious partner such as ULC‑Energy, the exclusive Dutch development partner for Rolls‑Royce SMR, as a key account will support our pathway to decarbonise the Netherlands and to roll out further nuclear services nationally. With 30+ years of experience in the nuclear field worldwide, supporting nuclear safety authorities, licensees, EPC, technology providers and supply chain, Bureau Veritas has gained a significant knowledge in nuclear safety and quality management. We are committed to leveraging our technical expertise to support ULC-Energy throughout all engineering and procurement phases of this SMR project."
The Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years. Around 90% of the SMR will be built in factory conditions, limiting on-site activity primarily to assembly of pre-fabricated, pre-tested, modules which significantly reduces project risk and has the potential to drastically shorten build schedules.
In August 2022, Rolls-Royce SMR signed an exclusive agreement with ULC-Energy to collaborate on the deployment of Rolls-Royce SMR power plants in the Netherlands. ULC-Energy - established in 2021 and based in Amsterdam - aims to accelerate decarbonisation in the Netherlands by developing nuclear energy projects that efficiently integrate with residential and industrial energy networks in the country. It has also established cooperation agreements with other strategic partners including BAM Infra, Siemens Energy and Orano.
In December 2021, the Netherlands' new coalition government placed nuclear power at the heart of its climate and energy policy. In addition to keeping the Borssele plant in operation for longer, the government also called for the construction of new reactors. Based on preliminary plans, two new reactors will be completed around 2035 and each will have a capacity of 1000-1650 MWe. The government is also taking steps to prepare the Netherlands for the possible deployment of SMRs.
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