Mission 2030: Holtec Palisades partners with Hyundai to build first small modular reactors

COVERT, Mich.-- The CEOs of Holtec International and Hyundai E&C signed an expanded cooperation agreement Tuesday for the construction of two 300-megawatt small modular reactors (SMRs); they are calling it "Mission 2030."

Leaders from both companies are calling this the nuclear power renaissance.

"The ground where we stand today is where the first SMR will be built," said Holtec International CEO, Dr. Kris Singh. "Mission 2030 is to get the first reactor operational by the end of 2030."

Holtec will already be the first company to restart a nuclear power plant nationwide, leaders claim, after shutting down in 2022. It is set to restart by the end of this year, putting 800 megawatts of baseload power back on the grid.

Then the expansion of Palisades, Mission 2030, will add two SMRs on-site. Each SMR will generate at least 300 megawatts of additional power. Holtec is expected to be the first company to get an SMR running in the United States, leaders say.

"Pretty much like what John Kennedy said in 1962, 'End of the decade, we will have a man on the moon.' You remember that," Singh said. "Well, it's pretty much like that, end of this decade, the first SMR, the first reactor, [will be] operational."

The Palisades restart is possible with help from a $1.5 billion federal grant from the Department of Energy, which Holtec leaders say is perfectly intact even with a new administration, saying this project has bipartisan support.

"All indications are they're going to honor their contract," said Kelly Trice, president of Holtec International. "They're going to keep their commitment going, they're going to keep the advances going, and nuclear power and the restart of this plant is a priority of the administration."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a draft finding of no significant environmental impact from the plant.

"We call our reactor walk-away safe. It is walk-away safe," Singh said. "It is Fukushima proof."

Certain regional environmental groups do not share that confidence.

"You've earned the walkway safe designation, yet there's still a coalition of environmental groups, these include Beyond Nuclear, Don't Waste Michigan, and so on, who are still opposing the restart. They're calling it a zombie restart, every step of the way," said ABC57's Annie Kate during the Q&A portion of Tuesday's press conference.

"We value that input is what I would tell you, we would invite them to come to tour the plant," Trice said. "Not everybody is going to be pro-nuclear, but we do find in the United States, and most countries of the world, the need for power is insatiable."

"While nuclear doesn't solve all the problems of the universe, it is very clean," Trice continued. "It is carbon-free, and it is baseload full generation 24/7 power."

Trice said the project is on time and on budget.