The US Department of Energy (DoE) has revealed selections for the award of approximately $40m in total to two teams led by Westinghouse Electric and General Atomics for conceptual design and planning work for the next generation nuclear plant (NGNP).
DoE said that the results of this work will help the administration determine whether to proceed with detailed efforts toward construction and demonstration of the NGNP.
If successful, the NGNP demonstration project will demonstrate high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology that will be capable of producing electricity as well as process heat for industrial applications and will be configured for low technical and safety risk with highly reliable operations.
Steven Chu, secretary of DOE, said: "This investment reflects president Obama's commitment to building the next generation of nuclear reactors that will create thousands of jobs and supply the clean energy to power our economy.
"It's time for America to recapture the lead in the nuclear energy industry and lay the foundation for a stronger, cleaner, and more competitive economic future."
The department will now negotiate the final terms and conditions for the awards with the intention of completing conceptual designs by August 31, 2010.
