Holtec International
Corporate brand
UnclaimedPrivately held American energy-technology company specializing in nuclear equipment, spent-fuel management, plant decommissioning, and small modular reactors.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Holtec International is a privately held American energy-technology and engineering company founded in 1986 in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The company supplies equipment and services used across the nuclear-power lifecycle, with particular expertise in the handling, storage, and transportation of spent nuclear fuel. Its portfolio includes dry-storage casks and canister systems, heat-transfer equipment, reactor components, engineering services, decommissioning support, civil construction, and technologies intended for new nuclear generation. Holtec developed from a supplier of nuclear-industry equipment into a vertically integrated company with manufacturing, engineering, project-development, and plant-services capabilities. Its domestic operating presence includes facilities in New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, while its international footprint has included operations or offices in Brazil, India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. The company serves utilities, reactor operators, government organizations, and other participants in the energy infrastructure sector. Spent-fuel management remains one of Holtec's best-known business areas. Its systems are designed to transfer, store, and transport used nuclear fuel after it has been removed from reactor pools. The company has also promoted the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility concept, which is intended to provide centralized interim storage for commercial spent fuel. In parallel, Holtec supplies heat exchangers and other thermal-management equipment, as well as components and services for nuclear plants and other industrial applications. A major strategic development has been Holtec's move into advanced nuclear generation. The SMR-160 is a proposed 160-megawatt electric pressurized-water small modular reactor using natural circulation and passive safety features. The design was developed around simplified systems and underground or below-grade protection concepts. Holtec has worked with external technology and fuel companies on commercialization and fuel qualification, and the design has been subject to regulatory review activity in Canada and the United States. Holtec later advanced the SMR-300, a larger small modular reactor concept that adds forced coolant flow to the gravity-driven circulation approach associated with the SMR-160. The company has proposed deploying the first units at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan and has pursued manufacturing and commercialization opportunities in the United Kingdom and other international markets. Its British activities have included government support for SMR development, participation in the United Kingdom's generic design assessment process, and plans for a South Yorkshire manufacturing facility. Holtec has also become a prominent participant in nuclear-plant decommissioning and potential plant restarts. After acquiring the Palisades plant from Entergy for decommissioning, it began pursuing a restart rather than completing permanent closure. The project involves regulatory approvals, equipment inspections and upgrades, workforce requalification, and public-sector financial support. If completed, the restart would make Palisades one of the first permanently closed American nuclear plants to be returned to service and could provide a model for extending the life of existing nuclear assets. The company has attracted public scrutiny alongside its expansion. A large New Jersey tax incentive package awarded in 2014 to support expansion at the Port of Camden has been questioned by critics and examined in public debate. Holtec's proposed interim spent-fuel storage plans, decommissioning activities, public subsidies, and nuclear restart projects have likewise generated interest from regulators, environmental organizations, local communities, and state and federal policymakers. Despite those controversies, Holtec remains active as an integrated nuclear-equipment supplier and developer of advanced-reactor and nuclear-infrastructure projects.
History
Holtec International was established in 1986 in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, as a privately held technology company serving the energy industry. Its early and continuing specialization has been the design and manufacture of equipment for nuclear reactors and the management of spent nuclear fuel. Over time, the company expanded beyond individual components into integrated systems, engineering, manufacturing, construction, decommissioning, and project development. A core part of Holtec's business is dry storage and transport technology for used nuclear fuel. Nuclear operators require such systems when fuel can no longer remain in reactor cooling pools or when plants are being decommissioned. Holtec manufactures casks, canisters, and related equipment intended to protect fuel during storage and transportation. It has also promoted the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility concept, which would consolidate commercial spent fuel at an interim location pending the availability of a permanent disposal solution. The company broadened its industrial portfolio through heat-transfer equipment, nuclear-reactor components, engineering services, civil construction, and decommissioning work. Its operating network developed across several American states and multiple foreign markets, including Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. This international structure supports both equipment manufacturing and services for nuclear and other energy-related infrastructure. Holtec's expansion in New Jersey became politically significant in 2014 when the state's Economic Development Authority awarded the company a reported $260 million tax incentive package for growth at the Port of Camden. The incentives were subsequently scrutinized by critics of state economic-development programs. The episode became one of the most visible public controversies associated with the company, although Holtec continued to expand its nuclear-technology activities. Advanced nuclear generation became increasingly important to Holtec's strategy through the SMR-160. Originally described as an inherently safe modular underground reactor, the SMR-160 is a proposed 160 MWe single-loop pressurized-water reactor. Its design emphasizes natural circulation and passive core cooling, reducing reliance on active pumps and valves in accident conditions. Holtec worked with GE Hitachi on commercialization beginning in 2018 and reached an arrangement involving Framatome's GAIA fuel assembly in 2020. The design also entered regulatory pre-licensing activity in Canada. Holtec later promoted the SMR-300, a successor or larger evolution of its small-reactor program. Unlike the SMR-160's primarily natural-circulation concept, the SMR-300 incorporates forced coolant flow alongside gravity-driven circulation. In 2023, Holtec announced a proposal to deploy the first two units at the Palisades site in Michigan. The company also pursued United Kingdom opportunities, receiving development support, entering the British Generic Design Assessment process, and announcing a planned South Yorkshire manufacturing facility aimed at European and Middle Eastern markets. Another major strategic initiative has been the proposed restart of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station. Holtec acquired the plant from Entergy after the facility had been taken out of service for decommissioning. Rather than proceeding directly to permanent dismantlement, Holtec began seeking permission and financial support to return the station to operation. The work requires extensive inspection, maintenance, equipment refurbishment, staffing, operator requalification, and regulatory review. The project has received support from the United States Department of Energy and the State of Michigan and is intended to restore roughly 805 MW of carbon-free generating capacity. Holtec has described the effort as a possible model for reviving other recently closed nuclear plants. Through these activities, Holtec has positioned itself across the full nuclear lifecycle: manufacturing equipment for operating reactors, managing spent fuel, decommissioning closed plants, developing new reactors, and attempting to restart existing generating assets. Its growth has also brought scrutiny concerning public subsidies, interim spent-fuel storage, plant safety, environmental review, and the practical and financial risks of advanced-reactor deployment. The company remains privately held and active in nuclear equipment, services, and project development.
- 2025
Palisades restart advances through regulatory and construction work
[1]Holtec continues refurbishment, staffing, and regulatory work intended to return the Palisades plant to service.
- 2024
South Yorkshire manufacturing plans
[1]Holtec announces plans for a South Yorkshire facility to produce SMR-300 equipment for overseas markets.
- 2023
SMR-300 and Palisades plans announced
[1]Holtec announces its SMR-300 concept and proposes deploying two units at the Palisades site in Michigan.
- 2023
United Kingdom supports Holtec's SMR program
[1]The United Kingdom provides development funding and includes the SMR-300 in its generic design assessment process.
- 2022
Federal financing request for SMR expansion
[1]Holtec seeks federal loan support for expanded SMR manufacturing, four proposed reactors, and a new heavy-industry complex.
- 2020
SMR-160 fuel agreement
[1]Holtec agrees to use Framatome's GAIA fuel assembly technology in the SMR-160 program and continues Canadian pre-licensing work.
- 2018
SMR-160 commercialization collaboration
[1]GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy agrees to collaborate with Holtec on commercialization of the SMR-160 design.
- 2014
New Jersey approves Camden expansion incentives
[1]The New Jersey Economic Development Authority awards Holtec a large tax incentive package for an expansion at the Port of Camden.
- 1986
Holtec International is founded
[1]Holtec International is founded in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, as a privately held technology company serving the energy sector.
Products and positioning
An integrated nuclear-technology and infrastructure company combining equipment manufacturing, spent-fuel management, engineering, decommissioning, advanced-reactor development, and nuclear-plant project execution.
Nuclear fuel-cycle equipment
Spent nuclear fuel storage and transport systems
Holtec designs and manufactures dry-storage casks, canisters, and associated systems for used nuclear fuel. These products support the movement of fuel from reactor pools into dry storage and its subsequent transportation or centralized interim storage. They are used by nuclear operators during normal fuel-management operations and during plant decommissioning.
Spent-fuel storage infrastructure
HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility
HI-STORE is Holtec's proposed consolidated interim storage concept for commercial spent nuclear fuel. The facility is intended to hold used fuel in dry-storage systems at a centralized site while the United States continues to address the long-term disposal of nuclear waste. The proposal has been part of broader regulatory and public debates over interim storage.
Small modular reactor
SMR-160
The SMR-160 is a proposed 160 MWe single-loop pressurized-water small modular reactor. Its design emphasizes natural coolant circulation, passive core cooling, standard pressurized-water-reactor fuel dimensions, and a compact configuration intended to improve safety and siting flexibility. Holtec has pursued fuel, commercialization, and regulatory-development partnerships for the design.
Small modular reactor · 2023
SMR-300
The SMR-300 is Holtec's proposed approximately 300 MWe small modular reactor. It builds on the company's SMR program while adding forced coolant flow to the gravity-driven circulation approach associated with the SMR-160. Holtec has proposed the reactor for the Palisades site and has pursued United Kingdom regulatory review and international manufacturing plans.
Nuclear services
Nuclear plant decommissioning services
Holtec provides engineering, project-management, equipment, and field services connected with the retirement and dismantling of nuclear power facilities. Its work can include spent-fuel management, plant-system deactivation, site remediation, component handling, and preparation for long-term storage or redevelopment.
Energy equipment
Heat-transfer equipment
Holtec manufactures heat-transfer and thermal-management equipment used in power-generation and industrial applications. This part of the portfolio complements its nuclear-reactor component business and reflects the company's broader engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
Controversies
2014
Scrutiny of New Jersey tax incentives
A New Jersey Economic Development Authority package reported at approximately $260 million to support Holtec's Camden expansion attracted criticism and public scrutiny over the scale and effectiveness of state tax incentives for corporate development.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023Palisades Nuclear Generating Station restart program
United States
Holtec's most prominent public-facing strategic program is its effort to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan after its 2022 shutdown. The program combines equipment refurbishment, regulatory submissions, workforce requalification, maintenance, and public-sector financing. Holtec presents the project as a way to restore substantial carbon-free generation and demonstrate that selected retired nuclear plants may be candidates for technically and economically viable restart.
Outcome. The restart remained under development, with operation targeted for the middle of the 2020s decade. Final timing depends on regulatory approvals, technical completion, testing, and fuel-related activities.
- 2023United Kingdom SMR commercialization program
United Kingdom · Europe · Middle East
Holtec pursued a United Kingdom market-entry program for the SMR-300, combining government-backed development support, participation in the Generic Design Assessment process, and plans for manufacturing capacity in South Yorkshire.
Outcome. The SMR-300 entered the British design-assessment process, while the proposed manufacturing facility was positioned to support future European and Middle Eastern deployments.
Brand decisions
2023
Introduce the SMR-300 deployment strategyProduct launchBackground
Holtec sought a larger advanced-reactor product and a concrete demonstration site for its small-modular-reactor business.
Action taken
The company announced plans for two SMR-300 units at Palisades in Michigan.
Aftermath
The announcement linked Holtec's reactor-development business with its plant-restart strategy and gave the SMR-300 a proposed domestic reference site.
2023
Pursue United Kingdom SMR market entryStrategyBackground
The United Kingdom was developing a competitive process for small modular reactors and reviewing candidate designs.
Action taken
Holtec accepted United Kingdom development support, entered the SMR-300 into generic design assessment, and pursued local manufacturing plans.
Aftermath
The program established a regulatory and industrial pathway for potential SMR-300 sales in Britain and nearby export markets.
United Kingdom development support. GBP 30 million awarded (2023)
2023
Acquire Palisades and pursue restart instead of decommissioningOtherBackground
Holtec acquired Palisades after the plant had been shut down and was originally expected to proceed through decommissioning.
Action taken
The company redirected the project toward refurbishment and recommissioning, including operator requalification, system upgrades, inspections, and regulatory work.
Aftermath
The effort became a high-profile test of whether a recently closed American nuclear station could return to commercial service.
Public-sector support for restart. USD 1.5 billion Department of Energy loan and USD 300 million from the State of Michigan (2020s)
2022
Seek financing for integrated SMR manufacturing and deploymentStrategyBackground
Holtec proposed expanding its manufacturing capacity while also developing a first group of small modular reactors in the United States.
Action taken
The company requested federal loan support for manufacturing expansion, four proposed SMR-160 units, and a new Holtec Heavy Industries complex.
Aftermath
The request illustrated Holtec's intention to combine reactor design, component manufacturing, and project ownership rather than remain solely an equipment supplier.
Requested federal loan amount. USD 7.4 billion requested (2022)
2020
Adopt GAIA fuel assembly technology for SMR-160Generation changeBackground
Holtec needed a commercially available fuel approach compatible with the SMR-160's pressurized-water-reactor design.
Action taken
The company agreed to use Framatome's 17-by-17 GAIA fuel assembly in the SMR-160 program.
Aftermath
The agreement supported the reactor's fuel-development pathway and its broader licensing and commercialization work.
2018
Partner on SMR-160 commercializationStrategyBackground
Holtec sought to move its SMR-160 design from conceptual and engineering work toward commercial deployment.
Action taken
The company entered a commercialization collaboration with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
Aftermath
The partnership increased the industrial credibility and commercialization reach of the SMR-160 program, although the reactor remained in development.
Recent events
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