US-based NuScale, which is partnering with Nuclearelectrica to build small modular reactors (SMRs) in Romania, Germany, has costs far higher than it earns, reporting a net loss of $180.1 million in 2023 compared to revenue of just in 2023. 11.8 million dollars.

We remind you that NuScale suffered a huge setback last fall, when the project in Idaho (USA) to develop the first mini-reactors was canceled because it turned out to be too expensive and far exceeded expectations. Now, after the failure of the US project, Romania is the next country on NuScale’s list to build these SMRs.

After rising losses, NuScale will save

In this context, NuScale announced its balance sheet for 2023, where the loss increased by 27% compared to 2022. And in the previous year, it had losses that amounted to 141.6 million dollars.

However, his revenue doubled from $11.8 million to $22.8 million in 2023, but this level is still too low compared to his expenses.

NuScale says it will have a profitability policy that will deliver annual savings of $50-60 million. The company will refocus its resources on the commercial side, focusing on advancing profitable projects, securing new orders and positioning NuScale for long-term success.

In addition, the company recently announced that it will lay off 28% of its staff to cut costs.

Some question marks related to the Doicești project

The only accredited project in the West to build small modular reactors is dead, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported in December, recalling the failure in Idaho. The concept looked great on paper, but there were serious questions about its implementation, reports The Telegraph.

The original plan was for Romania to develop these SMRs after the US, but it has now become NuScale’s main customer.

“The Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) in Idaho will be the first SMR NuScale power plant. (…) For the CFPP project, which is more advanced than the SMR project in Romania, NuScale has already placed a long-term order. “Durable materials needed to start production of the first NuScale Power modules with Doosan Enerbility,” NuScale answered in September to some questions from HotNews.ro.

A few weeks later, on November 8, NuScale announced that an innovative Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project had been canceled in the US, citing a 53% cost increase. In addition, NuScale Power also faces a number of allegations that it awarded a controversial contract worth about $37 billion to a “bogus customer,” Standard Power.

The failure of the project is worrisome because NuScale is the only developer outside of Russia and China to be certified for SMR development. The project involved building six 77-megawatt SMRs (for a total of 462 MW) near Idaho Falls at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory and selling the output to local utilities that sponsored the project.

Why NuScale failed in her country

As of 2019, the cost of the project has increased from US$5.3 billion to US$9.3 billion due to rising supply chain costs, interest rates and inflation. The project’s completion date was extended from 2026 to 2029, prompting the withdrawal of several utility companies.

NuScale said in March that moving forward with the project would require customers to contract for 80 percent of SMR production, though less than 25 percent has been sold so far. A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a think tank critical of SMR technology, found that costs have risen from $55 per megawatt-hour to $89 per MWh.

The decision to place the first American SMR in Idaho Falls made sense, according to The Telegraph. The town is small (population 70,000) and is home to the Idaho National Laboratory, which has specialized in nuclear research for the federal government since the 1940s. The project also enjoys support from a presidential administration, which is becoming increasingly rare in the US. The Trump administration approved a $1.4 billion plan to support the cost of the project, and support has continued under President Joe Biden.

Nuclear power is also supported by the Biden Inflation Relief Act with tax credits both to support production at existing nuclear plants and to encourage investment in SMRs and other modern reactors.

Read more about the NuScale project:

• Serious accusations against the company that will produce nuclear mini-reactors from Doicești / NuScale Power responds that these are attacks aimed at lowering the share price
• Huge failure: Small modular reactor project canceled in the USA / NuScale has problems with trust / Position of the Ministry of Energy: Romania maintains trust in SMR technologies
• Why Germany’s small nuclear reactors are increasing / Americans with NuScale Power say that the increase in capacity will not affect safety
• Two large energy projects in Romania. Who are the businessmen and corporations involved – history and controversies surrounding them