GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is a provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services. It is headquartered in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

, United States. Established in June 2007, GEH is a nuclear alliance created by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

and

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo G ...

. In Japan, the alliance is Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy. In November 2015, Jay Wileman was appointed CEO.

History

In 1955, the Atomic Power Equipment Department was established by GE. Two years later, in 1957: GE's first privately financed nuclear power reactor provides electricity for commercial use in Vallecitos, California. Additionally, in 1960, GE made and contributed to the Dresden Nuclear Power Station in Chicago. In the 1960s, it got involved in constructing and building the

Boiling water reactor A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is a design different from a Soviet graphite-moderated RBMK. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nu ...

(BWR). The research into the project continued in the next 50 years resulting in production of 6 different BWR generations. In 1997, the GE-Hitachi U.S.

Advanced boiling water reactor The advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) is a Generation III boiling water reactor. The ABWR is currently offered by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Toshiba. The ABWR generates electrical power by using steam to power a turbine connected ...

(ABWR) design was certified as a final design in final form by the

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...

. GE and Hitachi officially established the GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) global alliance in 2007 by combining parts of their respective power businesses. Based in

is creating and supplying BWRs and giving assistance with boiling water and pressurized water reactors. In Canada, the organization was known as GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada and its purpose is to provide fuel and service nuclear power plants that operate on heavy water reactors made by Atomic Energy Canada. In 2016, GE and Hitatchi sold GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada to BWXT Canada Ltd. and renamed BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada In 2005, GE Hitachi filed design certification by NRC for their

Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor The Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) is a passively safe generation III+ reactor design derived from its predecessor, the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) and from the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). All are desi ...

(ESBWR). The ESBWR received a positive Safety Evaluation Report and Final Design Approval on March 9, 2011. On June 7, 2011, the NRC completed its public comment period. Final rule was issued on September 16, 2014, after two outstanding problems with GE-Hitachi's modeling of loads on the steam dryer were solved. In 2013, following its purchase of Horizon Nuclear Power,

began the process of generic design assessment of the Hitachi-GE ABWR with the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation. The process was completed in December 2017. In January 2020, the company started the regulatory licensing process for the BWRX-300 with the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began opera ...

Reactors

The Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) is the world's first operational Generation III Class advanced light water reactor design. The NRC has registered GEH's petition for renewal of ABWR certification. The

(ESBWR), the Generation III+ Class design reactor, received a positive final safety evaluation report and final design approval in March 2011, and is expected to receive a license from the NRC by September 2011. GEH's Power Reactor Innovative Small Modular (PRISM) is a Generation IV reactor that uses liquid sodium as a coolant. In 2020 GEH partnered with TerraPower to develop a Natrium reactor. In 2018, GEH agreed to collaborate with Holtec International on the commercialization of the Holtec SMR-160, a 160 MWe

pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) i ...

(PWR) small modular reactor.

Nuclear services

As nuclear plants get older and worldwide demand for energy increases, GEH offers services for adapting plant performance and power output as well as maintenance for extending plant life.

Fuel services

GEH’s fuel cycle business supplies fuel products and services to customers around the world. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy owns the

Morris Operation The Morris Operation in Grundy County, Illinois, United States, is the location of the only permanent (the rest are temporary) ''de facto'' high-level radioactive waste storage site in the United States and holds 772 tons of spent nuclear fuel. It ...

—the only de facto high-level radioactive waste storage site in the United States.

References

External links