Marcos eyes micro nuclear fuel technology to solve PH power crisis
WASHINGTON D.C., United States — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is eyeing “cutting-edge” micro nuclear fuel technology as part of his administration’s efforts to solve the country’s power crisis.
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time), this came after Marcos met with officials of Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), a US-based firm global leader and vertical integrator of nuclear technologies and services.
In a meeting in Washington, Francesco Venneri, CEO of USNC, expressed interest in bringing clean and reliable nuclear energy to the Philippines, saying it was “probably a very important way for us to enter the market.”
USNC said it was seriously considering the Philippines for its first nuclear energy facility in Southeast Asia and vowed to help address the series of blackouts that have hit several areas of the country.
“We also note that there’s a great deal of discussion about Mindoro having blackouts and that might be an excellent….a good science [solution],” Venneri said, as quoted by the PCO.
He was referring to the weeks of power outages in Occidental Mindoro.
READ: Gov’t talks to power firm to end Occidental Mindoro blackouts
Citing USNC officials, the PCO said the micro modular reactor (MMR) energy system is a fourth-generation nuclear energy system that seeks to deliver safe, clean, and cost-effective electricity to users.
The MMR is being licensed in Canada and the US and is considered the first “fission battery” in commercialization, it added.
The PCO said the firm anticipates eventual heavy demand for its MMRs and its nuclear fuel and envisions the Philippines as its nuclear hub in the region.
Ensuring an unhampered supply of energy alongside the promotion and utilization of renewable energy sources are top priorities of the Marcos administration in an aggressive bid to realize a sufficient and clean energy supply in the future, the PCO said.
READ: Marcos, Biden commit to expand collab on renewable energy production
