Excerpt from the April 2025 The North Carolina Collaboratory

As Duke Energy pledges to reduce coal-fired generation, and energy demands continue to rise, North Carolina is looking towards Small Modular Nuclear Reactors as a reliable and continuous power source. Small Modular Reactors typically produce up to 300 megawatts of electricity, around a third of the energy of traditional nuclear plants. They have many attractive qualities such as their small footprint, inherent safety features, modularity, and ability to be factory fabricated.

Dr. Maria Avramova is a professor of nuclear engineering at NC State University and is the director of the University’s Consortium for Nuclear Power. The Collaboratory is funding her and her team’s joint project with GE and Hitachi Energy to develop a digital simulator to showcase the functions of GE-Hitachi’s BWRX-300, a small modular boiling water reactor design. This simulator will improve nuclear education and workforce training, boost scientific collaboration on SMR research, and spur an interest in nuclear technology in NC high schools and community colleges.

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