(CHARLOTTE, N.C. – November 13, 2013) – The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) (NYSE:BWC) announced today that it is accelerating the ongoing search for additional equity partners for its mPower™ small modular reactor (SMR) program.  The expanded process is being launched now to seek additional partners who are ready to fully participate in the mPower™ SMR licensing and other pre-construction activities needed to deploy the lead mPower Plant by 2022, consistent with the schedule for the mPower America Project with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

“B&W, through the world-class team that we have assembled, has elevated the mPower program to a leadership position in the development of SMRs to meet domestic and global market demand,” said E. James Ferland, President and CEO of B&W. “mPower is uniquely positioned to shift the paradigm for new nuclear plant deployment and we are proud that mPower is leading this exciting global business opportunity. We are taking this next logical step in program development to bring additional equity partners on board to ensure the Generation mPower venture has adequate resources over the next several years to fully capture these opportunities.” Generation mPower LLC (GmP) is the joint development company formed by B&W and Bechtel in 2010. To date, B&W has invested more than $360 million in the mPower program.  

“The Company is grateful that Congress, the U.S. Department of Energy and the nuclear industry – particularly the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as our lead plant customer – have all recognized the vital role that this technology will play in our Nation’s future energy and national security policy.  We also appreciate the critical funding we are receiving through the DOE’s Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program. We look forward to continuing to work with the DOE and a broader set of GmP owners to ensure near-term deployment and successful commercialization of this important new clean energy technology,” Ferland said.

“Our mPower reactor has emerged as the recognized global market leader in SMR technology with a powerful value proposition centered on safety, economics and deployment flexibility,” said Christofer Mowry, President and CEO of Generation mPower. “mPower has evolved to the point where we need to complete the maturation of GmP.  Having a broader set of industrial partners and owners of GmP is important to ensure that we make a seamless transition into mPower licensing and construction – a transition that will begin over the next year as we start the formal design certification process with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

B&W has engaged JP Morgan as the exclusive financial advisor to assist in the process of securing additional investment partner(s) who will collectively own the majority equity interest in GmP.  JP Morgan will be seeking to expand domestic participation in the mPower program. B&W plans to retain the rights to manufacture the reactor module and nuclear fuel for the mPower Plant in order to continue revitalizing the U.S. nuclear manufacturing infrastructure and the jobs it brings to the U.S. economy, as well as enabling the successful deployment of mPower reactors with its high-precision manufacturing platform.