Denmark is looking to deploy its small modular reactor (SMR) technology in the Philippines to help jump-start the country’s nuclear power sector, saying that it could solve issues on licensing and permitting.
SMRs can produce up to 300 megawatts (MW) per unit and are being considered as a greener and cheaper alternative to coal or diesel-fired power plants.
Danish Ambassador to the Philippines Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin found a “good match” between the power needs of the Philippines and the SMR technology, especially since his country’s nuclear power solution was sea-based rather than land-based.
“The big difference between the Danish SMR technology and those we see in other countries like the United States is that our solution is sea-based … The time to market is also much shorter than land-based solutions,” he told reporters recently.
Mellbin also emphasized that land-based SMRs typically involved more tedious licensing and permitting processes. The envoy cited Denmark’s existing SMR project with South Korea, which was able to secure the necessary approvals from the International Atomic Energy Agency for the sea-based technology.