Visualisation of the Llynfi Energy Project in Bridgend, South Wales (Photo credit: Last Energy)
Last Energy says the LOI, from the bank’s structured and project finance division, confirms its “willingness to diligence” the financing and follows an in-depth review of Last Energy’s “technology, business model, manufacturing plan and access to nuclear fuel. Upon final commitment, the Bank’s facility would cover Last Energy’s entire costs for a single power plant installation”.
Last Energy, established in 2019, is a spin-off from the Washington-based Energy Impact Center, a research institute that advocates accelerating the clean energy transition through innovation. In 2022, Last Energy revealed its completed PWR-20 design for a 20 MWe (60 MWt) single-loop pressurised water reactor (PWR) that has a 300C continuous output based on accepted PWR technology.
The design uses standard full-length PWR fuel enriched to 4.95% and closed-cycle air cooling. Power plant modules would be built off-site and assembled in modules. By using ready-made modular components, Last Energy says a reactor could be assembled within 24 months of the final investment decision. The assumed lifetime of the power plant is 42 years.
Under its development model, Last Energy owns and operates its plug-and-play power plant on the customer’s site, bypassing the decade-long development timelines of electric transmission grid upgrade requirements. The company has been advancing plans to develop four PWR-20 units on the vacant site of the Llynfi coal-fired power station – a 120 MW plant that operated between 1951 and 1977 since when the14-acre site has remained vacant.
Last Energy’s Prosiect Egni Glan Llynfi (Llynfi Energy Project) project will deliver power to mid-size manufacturers throughout the region, providing 24/7 baseload power and putting the local economy on a path toward industrial decarbonisation. The company says it has begun conducting site surveys and aims to deliver the first plant by 2027, contingent on the licensing and planning processes.
Bret Kugelmass, Founder and CEO of Last Energy, said: “Receiving this Letter of Interest from EXIM is the latest in a series of recent milestones that further validates Last Energy’s unique approach to accelerating nuclear deployment by focusing on design for manufacturability. They put us through the wringer – interrogating our physics, technology, supply chain, business model, partnerships, and timelines to delivery – and, after 18 months of rigorous review, have determined that we’re ready for the next step.”
Last Energy estimates that the south Wales project represents a capital investment of £300m ($393m), which will not require public funding. Contracts with local suppliers would amount to more than £30m, while more than 100 full-time local jobs would also be created.
Last Energy says it has commercial agreements for over 65 units across Europe. In March 2023 it secured purchase agreements (PPAs) for 34 PWR-20 units with four industrial partners in the UK and Poland. Last Energy said the deals, worth $18.9bn in power sales, mark “the largest pipeline of new nuclear power plants under development in the world”.
In June, Last Energy signed an agreement with the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (ENSEC COE) to jointly research military applications for micro-nuclear power technologies and to explore opportunities for future deployment on NATO military installations. Under the partnership, both parties agreed to work on joint projects around nuclear energy applications for NATO military installations and operations.
