November 16, 2024
Today, at the U.N. Climate Change
Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP 29), U.S. Under
Secretary of State for Arms Control and International
Security Bonnie Jenkins and Ukraine Minister of Energy
German Galushchenko announced three project partnerships
under the Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible
Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program.
These partnerships will help position Ukraine to take a
leadership role on secure and safe nuclear energy and
industrial decarbonization. Ambassador of Ukraine to the
Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Yuriy Husyev, U.S. Department of
Energy Acting Assistant Secretary Michael Goff, Argonne
National Laboratory Director Paul Kearns, and Electric Power
Research Institute Senior Vice President Neil Wilmhurst also
participated in the event, which launched $30 million in
FIRST cooperation to support three
projects:
- Ukraine Clean Fuels from SMR Pilot
Plant (Phase 2): Phase 2 of this project (the first phase of
which was announced at COP 27) will build a pilot plant in
Ukraine to demonstrate production of clean hydrogen and
ammonia, a key ingredient for agricultural fertilizers,
using simulated safe and secure small modular reactor (SMR)
technology. The project is being carried out by a
multinational public-private consortium from Japan, the
Republic of Korea, Ukraine, and the United
States. - Project Phoenix – Ukraine: In an expansion
of the ongoing Project Phoenix in Central and Eastern
Europe, this project will facilitate the transition of
Ukraine’s coal-fired power plants to secure and safe SMR
nuclear power plants utilizing existing infrastructure and
retraining the workforce. The project will carry out siting
and feasibility studies, develop a comprehensive grid
integration strategy, and provide advisory services on
coal-to-SMR conversions. - Ukraine Clean Steel from
SMR Roadmap: This project will develop a roadmap and provide
technical support to rebuild, modernize, and decarbonize
Ukraine’s steel industry with SMRs. The roadmap will pave
the way for using clean electricity, process heat, and
hydrogen from SMRs for clean steel manufacturing and
production.
FIRST supports countries exploring
the potential for SMRs to meet their energy security and
clean energy goals, consistent with the highest nuclear
security, safety, and nonproliferation
standards.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
This post was originally published on here
