Columbia to host mini-reactor conference

Columbia in April will host a conference focusing on the development and production of small modular nuclear reactors.

SMRs — as they are called — are the size of a couple of hot tubs that could power a manufacturing plant, a military installation or a town the size of Lexington. The mini-reactors would be buried in the ground and provide enough energy for the equivalent of 20,000 homes, and be removed after cooling off for several months and moved to another site.

The conference is expected to draw about 120 people from about 60 companies and agencies around the world, such as China National Nuclear Corp., the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iraq Energy Institute. Also, industry heavyweights like Westinghouse, AREVA and GE have signed up, along with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Army and utilities across the nation.

“Those are all the heavy hitters,” said attorney Douglas Rosinski, who is helping to organize the conference.

The conference, scheduled to be held April 19-20 at the Marriott Hotel on Main Street, is sponsored by SCE&G and organized by the Carolinas’ Nuclear Cluster and Nuclear Energy Insider.

“The development of small modular reactors has the potential to fundamentally change how we produce and use energy in this country,” Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said. “Bringing this international conference here is a golden opportunity to position Columbia and the Midlands at the forefront of what is by far one of the most exciting new technologies on the horizon.”

The conference comes on the heels of two significant announcements by the Savannah River National Laboratory:

In September, a New Mexico company, Hyperion Power Generation, announced it would partner with the laboratory in a collaboration that could lead to building mini-reactors at the site near Aiken. Once production starts, the plant could employ 200 to 500, Hyperion officials said at the time.

In October, the lab announced it would be home to a demonstration project for a GE-Hitachi small reactor.

Neil McLean, executive director of Engenuity SC, which is helping to organize the conference, said those announcements and the conference could cement the Midlands and South Carolina as a center for the development and production of the mini-reactors, much as the National Hydrogen Association Conference & Expo in 2009 helped set the city and state as a center for hydrogen and fuel cell research and production.

“The goal … is to let these people see why they would have a competitive advantage in this region,” McLean said. “In terms of number of people, it’s not as big (as the hydrogen conference), but in order for companies to know you intend to be a player they need to come here and meet with the mayor and get exposure to your assets.”

McLean said that in addition to national laboratory, the state has the U.S. Navy’s only nuclear training school, a number of nuclear power plants and a trained nuclear workforce.

“We’re a very nuclear friendly state,” he said.