The US approves a $99 million loan to support the development of a small modular reactor in Romania

The U.S.'s official export credit agency, EXIM Bank, has approved a financial commitment of up to $99 million to support the development of Romania's 462 MW small modular reactor (SMR) near the village of Doicești.

The funds are intended for RoPower Nuclear SA, a joint venture equally controlled by the state-owned company Nuclearelectrica, which operates the Cernavodă nuclear power plant, and the private company Nova Power & Gas, part of the E-INFRA group.

Earlier this summer, a South Korean investment fund also received preliminary national security approval from the Romanian government to acquire a third of the capital of RoPower Nuclear SA.

According to RoPower Nuclear, the money will specifically go towards critical activities such as site development, obtaining regulatory approvals and carrying out detailed technical work. According to Profit.ro, the commitment is part of an initial $275 million funding package that includes significant contributions from other international institutions such as the US International Development Finance Corporation and private partners.

“The small modular reactor project in Doicești is a strong signal from Romania and its strategic partner, the United States, on energy independence and security, innovation and a pragmatic green transition from coal to nuclear energy,” said Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja.

Romania's planned SMRs use technology from the US company NuScale. In November last year, NuScale officially canceled a similar project in the United States called the Carbon Free Power Project in Idaho, which was supposed to be the first of its kind. This came after capital costs for the CFPP increased by over 75% from $5.3 billion to $9.3 billion due to rising material and equipment costs as well as increased financing costs amid rising interest rates and high inflation.

The Romanian Ministry of Energy estimates that the Doicești SMR project will require a budget of $4.9 billion. According to RoPower Nuclear, the project will help Romania reduce CO2 emissions by about 4 million tons annually.

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(Photo source: Nuclearelectrica)