G7 summit: US prepares the ground for support of up to 4 billion dollars for the construction of the first small modular reactor plant in Romania
The leaders of the G7 states confirmed within the sidelines of the Hiroshima summit, their commitment to identify new opportunities to expand the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), the flagship initiative of President Joe Biden and the G7 in the field of infrastructure, and which provides for the financing of the construction of the first power plant with a small modular reactor in Romania, reads a document published by the White House, according to caleaeuropeană.ro.
"When built, the SMR will pave the way for innovative new energy technologies, will boost the clean energy transition, will create thousands of jobs and will strengthen European energy security, while meeting the highest safety standards, security and nuclear non-proliferation", says the quoted source. In addition to potential support of up to €4 billion, further potential support of up to $275 million has been identified from the US, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
"Based on the previous support given by the US government for the development of the first SMR power plant of this type in Romania, which uses the technology of the American company NuScale Power and the engineering and construction services of Fluor Corporation, EXIM Bank US has issued a letter of interest for potential support up to 99 million dollars for RoPower Nuclear S.A. for design studies – along with expressions of interest from public and private partners in Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates – which together total up to $275 million in the initial phase,” states the White House.
In a clear signal of Romania's commitment in this direction, President Klaus Iohannis and the special emissary for the climate of the US President, John Kerry, announced at the summit of world leaders at COP26 in 2021 the plans to build a modular reactor plant in Romania small nuclear reactor (SMR), the "first of its kind", bringing the latest civilian nuclear technology to an important part of Europe.
Romania will thus become the first country in the world where the American technology of small modular nuclear reactors will be implemented. Through this intention, Romania will include Small Modular Reactors (SMR) in the national energy production system until 2028, which will strengthen the partnership with the USA in the civil nuclear field.
The November 2021 agreement between Washington and Bucharest came to develop a new area of cooperation within the bilateral Strategic Partnership – that of civil nuclear energy. This cooperation became possible after the presidents of the United States and Romania adopted, in August 2019, at the White House, a joint statement by which they strongly encouraged the close collaboration of our industries to support Romania's goals in the field of civil nuclear energy.
