The Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) is the only advanced nuclear design to have successfully entered operation. It has few of the first-of-a-kind technology risks found with all other advanced nuclear designs. The four ABWR units in commercial operations have been built in between 37 and 43 months from first safety concrete to first fuel load in Japan, and have more than a decade of operating history.

NINA will use proven construction practices like those that have been perfected on Japanese ABWRs to achieve similar construction timelines.

The proven construction record of the ABWR gives it significant cost and schedule certainty compared to other advanced nuclear designs. Because no other advanced nuclear design has been constructed, only the ABWR offers the benefit of having known quantities of material and equipment and lessons learned from previous construction experience. It represents the best potential for successful replication within the U.S. just as it is currently being replicated in a number of countries around the world.

The ABWR is also able to take advantage of an established supply chain. The ABWR has been successfully built by both Hitachi and Toshiba with support from General Electric. Three ABWR units are under construction in Taiwan and Japan, and nine more units are planned in Japan with four in advanced development, and five in the early planning stages.

Additionally, multiple vendors have ABWR capabilities in the U.S which should lead to a competitive pricing environment and help ABWR developers by ensuring the technology remains economically viable relative to other alternative generation technologies over the long term.