Today, at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP 29), U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins and Ukraine Minister of Energy German Galushchenko announced three project partnerships under the Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program. These partnerships will help position Ukraine to take a leadership role on secure and safe nuclear energy and industrial decarbonization. Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Yuriy Husyev, U.S. Department of Energy Acting Assistant Secretary Michael Goff, Argonne National Laboratory Director Paul Kearns, and Electric Power Research Institute Senior Vice President Neil Wilmhurst also participated in the event, which launched $30 million in FIRST cooperation to support three projects:
- Ukraine Clean Fuels from SMR Pilot Plant (Phase 2): Phase 2 of this project (the first phase of which was announced at COP 27) will build a pilot plant in Ukraine to demonstrate production of clean hydrogen and ammonia, a key ingredient for agricultural fertilizers, using simulated safe and secure small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The project is being carried out by a multinational public-private consortium from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, and the United States.
- Project Phoenix – Ukraine: In an expansion of the ongoing Project Phoenix in Central and Eastern Europe, this project will facilitate the transition of Ukraine’s coal-fired power plants to secure and safe SMR nuclear power plants utilizing existing infrastructure and retraining the workforce. The project will carry out siting and feasibility studies, develop a comprehensive grid integration strategy, and provide advisory services on coal-to-SMR conversions.
- Ukraine Clean Steel from SMR Roadmap: This project will develop a roadmap and provide technical support to rebuild, modernize, and decarbonize Ukraine’s steel industry with SMRs. The roadmap will pave the way for using clean electricity, process heat, and hydrogen from SMRs for clean steel manufacturing and production.
FIRST supports countries exploring the potential for SMRs to meet their energy security and clean energy goals, consistent with the highest nuclear security, safety, and nonproliferation standards.
