HOUSTON – American firm Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) is confident of having its pioneering rollout of micro modular reactors (MMRs) for nuclear power installations in the Philippines through a partnership with Manila Electric Company (Meralco) by the turn of the decade.

In an interview, USNC Executive Vice President of Advanced Technologies Paolo Venerri indicated that the fourth generation MMR of the company, which is anchored on “fission battery” technology, is already set for licensing and up for commercial deployment in the United States and Canada by 2028.

Following that milestone, he noted that the Philippines will be one of the markets that the Seattle-based nuclear firm would be keen on penetrating for next wave of installations for these compact reactors in power applications – which typically have capacities of 20 megawatts or less.

“We’re working with Meralco to see if there’s a successful application of our reactors in the Philippines. It’s our great solution and for us, Meralco is one of our most important customers,” he said.

Venerri further asserted that “in the Philippines, we’re aiming early 2030s if not before that – for the US and Canada, it will be 2028 for these reactors to be commercialized.”

He expounded that demonstration projects for power applications, primarily in the US market, are already advancing -- with positive outcome seen hitting fruition by 2026.

“We have a couple of demonstration projects in the United States – and we’re undergoing development process in Kansas -- and it’s going really well,” Venerri stressed.

The Seattle-based nuclear firm currently has active MMR deployment projects in Chalk River, Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories; as well as in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the United States.

The USNC executive acknowledged that the Philippines is the first key market in the Southeast Asian region that they will be making inroads into for the commercial deployment of their MMR technology, with him emphasizing that Meralco’s plan to have this deployed as power source for data centers will be a perfect fit solution that they can feasibly cater to.

Through innovative engineering and cutting-edge technology that integrate advanced safety features as well as containment structures, the MMRs are being designed for energy generation fitted not just for industrial end-users, but even for remote communities which makes it ideal for the archipelagic contours of the Philippines.

USNC and Meralco are currently undertaking pre-feasibility study on prospective application of  MMRs in the country – primarily in areas already pre-selected by the utility firm in Talim Island in Laguna de Bay, San Rafael in Bulacan and Isla de Provisor in the City of Manila.

Apart from its targeted rollout of MMRs, USNC also clinched a major deal with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Department of Defense for the development of advanced radioisotope-based power production technology as well as to mature nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP), which is an advanced reactor design that can be used in space.

In its engagement with NASA, USNC has been tapped to manufacture, test advanced and utilize the proprietary fuel of the company in advancing research and development (R&D) initiatives for hydrogen and nuclear for space propulsion.

As envisioned, the development of a nuclear technology that can bring people anew to the moon or outer space will be part of the bigger civil science mission that the US government is pursuing, leaning on reinforced aspiration of developing economic opportunities in space.