CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 6,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE)
announced today that it is investing $15
million in NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale), a developer of
small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear plants. Nucor has entered into
an agreement to fund NuScale via a private placement in the Special
Purpose Acquisition Company, Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.
(NASDAQ: SV, SVSVW), that intends to merge with NuScale. This
capital will support the path to commercialization of NuScale's
proprietary and innovative SMR technology, the NuScale Power
Module™.
"Sustainability is driving the business decisions of leading
companies around the world. As America's largest steel producer and
a significant energy consumer, we are looking for safe and reliable
sources of power generation that are consistent with our
sustainability goals. The continued development of small modular
nuclear reactors is critical to ensure our nation has carbon-free,
baseload power, which is why we are making this investment in
NuScale," said Leon Topalian,
President & Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation.
SMRs are nuclear reactors that can operate independently or in
tandem with other modules to produce carbon-free electric power on
a smaller scale and at a lower cost than traditional nuclear
power. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved
NuScale's technology, representing a significant milestone that no
other SMR developer has achieved.
Nucor has also supported the development of solar and wind
energy projects through three Power Purchase Agreements it has
entered into in the past two years, which will help enable the
construction of 600 megawatts of renewable power generation. This
investment in NuScale complements these efforts to help
the United States develop new
sources of clean power. An effective electric grid requires both
baseload and intermittent power sources, which is why both nuclear
and renewable energy must be part of the solution to achieve carbon
reduction while maintaining grid reliability.
About Nucor
Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel
products, with operating facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Products produced include: carbon and
alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural
section tubing; electrical conduit; steel racking; steel piling;
steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete
reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; precision castings; steel
fasteners; metal building systems; insulated metal panels; steel
grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph
Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and
hot briquetted iron / direct reduced iron; supplies ferro-alloys;
and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.
About NuScale Power
NuScale Power has developed a new modular light water reactor
nuclear power plant to supply energy for electrical generation,
district heating, desalination, hydrogen production and other
process heat applications. This groundbreaking small modular
reactor (SMR) technology is offered in scalable sizes, including a
VOYGR™-12 power plant, which includes 12 (77 MWe) NuScale
Power Modules™, using a safer, smaller, and scalable version of
pressurized water reactor technology. NuScale also offers smaller
power plant solutions, the four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe) and
six-module VOYGR-6 (462 MWe), though others will be possible. With
an array of flexible power options, NuScale is poised to meet the
diverse energy needs of customers across the world. The majority
investor in NuScale is Fluor Corporation, a global engineering,
procurement, and construction company with more than 70 years
supporting nuclear projects.
About Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.
Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. is a special purpose acquisition
company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger or similar
business combination with one or more businesses or entities
focusing on sustainability, including clean energy and storage,
smart grid/efficiency, environmental services and recycling,
mobility, water and wastewater management, advanced materials and
technology-enabled services. Spring
Valley's sponsor is supported by Pearl Energy Investment
Management, LLC, a Dallas, Texas
based investment firm that focuses on partnering with best-in-class
management teams to invest in the North American energy
industry.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release are
"forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties
which we expect will or may occur in the future and may impact our
business, financial condition and results of operations. The words
"anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "project," "may,"
"will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to
identify those forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements reflect the Company's best judgment based on current
information, and, although we base these statements on
circumstances that we believe to be reasonable when made, there can
be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of
such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual
results may vary materially from the projected results and
expectations discussed in this news release. Factors that might
cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing,
including pressure from imports and substitute materials; (2) U.S.
and foreign trade policies affecting steel imports or exports; (3)
the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing
market steel prices and changes in the supply and cost of raw
materials, including pig iron, iron ore and scrap steel; (4) the
availability and cost of electricity and natural gas, which could
negatively affect our cost of steel production or result in a delay
or cancellation of existing or future drilling within our natural
gas drilling programs; (5) critical equipment failures and business
interruptions; (6) market demand for steel products, which, in the
case of many of our products, is driven by the level of
nonresidential construction activity in the United States; (7) impairment in the
recorded value of inventory, equity investments, fixed assets,
goodwill or other long-lived assets; (8) uncertainties surrounding
the global economy, including excess world capacity for steel
production, inflation and interest rate changes; (9) fluctuations
in currency conversion rates; (10) significant changes in laws or
government regulations affecting environmental compliance,
including legislation and regulations that result in greater
regulation of greenhouse gas emissions that could increase our
energy costs, capital expenditures and operating costs or cause one
or more of our permits to be revoked or make it more difficult to
obtain permit modifications; (11) the cyclical nature of the steel
industry; (12) capital investments and their impact on our
performance; (13) our safety performance; and (14) the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic and any variants of the virus. These and
other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in "Item 1A.
Risk Factors" of Nucor's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2021. The
forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak
only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to
update them, except as may be required by applicable law.
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SOURCE Nucor Corporation