Report a Safety Concern
Search

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in the process of rescinding or revising guidance and policies posted on this webpage in accordance with Executive Order 14151 Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, and Executive Order 14168 Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. In the interim, any previously issued diversity, equity, inclusion, or gender-related guidance on this webpage should be considered rescinded that is inconsistent with these Executive Orders.

Home Nuclear Reactors New Reactors Advanced Reactors Who We're Working With Advanced Reactor Application Projects

NuScale US460 Standard Design Approval Application Review

image of NuScale US460 Standard Design Approval Application Review
Who:   NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale)
 
What:   Application for a Standard Design Approval for a small modular reactor (US460)
 
When:   By letter dated December 31, 2022 (electronically submitted on January 1, 2023), NuScale completed its staged SDA application submittal.
 
Website:   https://www.nuscalepower.com

On this page:

Project Overview

The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently engaged in review activities of NuScale’s US460 Standard Design Approval (SDA) for a light water technology small modular reactor. (DOCKET NOs. 05200050 and 99902078)

Plant Characteristic Description
Reactor Type Light water small modular reactor
Power per module 77 MWe per nuclear power module (NPM)
Number of NPMs 6
US460 SDA Total Power 462 MWe

For additional detail, see the following related page:

To top of page

Project Status

The NuScale US 460 SDA application (SDAA) review status is displayed in the dashboard below. It allows the user to use various filters and visualizations in the Microsoft® Power BI® software platform to investigate the overall trends regarding:

  • Phase Review Progress
  • NuScale SDA Application Review Timeline
  • Status of Requests for Additional Information (RAIs)
  • Status of High Impact Technical Issues (HITIs)

As the review progresses, the dashboard will be updated to reflect new information.


 

To top of page

Project Details

The SDAA review is broken up into the following phases:

Phase Phase Name End date
Phase A Advanced Safety Evaluation Report (ASER) without open items (draft completion date; internal NRC schedule) November 2024
Phase B ASER review (technical editing), Management concurrence February 2025*
Phase C Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Review of ASER May 2025
Phase D Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) and Standard Design Approval (SDA) July 2025

*Phase B is completed on schedule with few open items that are being addressed during Phase C of the review.

Each SDAA chapter is designated a categorization based on the level-of-effort required to perform the review. These categorizations and nominal timelines for Phase A are the following (NOTE: some subsections in some chapters may be a higher categorization):

  • Low effort chapters: 8-month review timeline
  • Medium effort chapters: 12-month review timeline
  • High effort chapters: 16-month review timeline

Additionally, during the SDAA readiness assessment and subsequent acceptance review, the NRC staff worked with NuScale and identified several High Impact Technical Issues (HITIs) related to the SDAA that will likely require increased focus by NuScale and the NRC staff to ensure timely completion of the safety review. The specific issues identified are outlined in the dashboard above.

To top of page

Contacts

Contacts for the NuScale US460 SDA application review
Lead Project Manager Getachew Tesfaye
301-415-8013
Public Affairs Officer Scott Burnell
301-415-8204

To top of page

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Friday, April 4, 2025