Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is set to receive a USD2.7 million grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to conduct a feasibility study on the adoption of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the Philippines, as part of its push to support the government’s clean energy and energy security goals.

The grant will support Meralco’s evaluation of various SMR technologies, focusing on molten salt designs. While the project’s micro modular reactor proposal was previously shelved, discussions on SMRs continue with new partners and a local counterpart. A foreign partner has yet to be finalized.

“This will be formalized via a signing ceremony very soon,”  Meralco chief operating officer Ronnie Aperocho said on the sidelines of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines’ 8th Annual Energy Forum in Pasay City. 

The grant comes under Meralco’s Nuclear Energy Strategic Transition (NEST) program, launched in 2024 to explore nuclear integration into the country’s power mix. This project supports the Philippine Energy Plan 2023–2050, which targets at least 1,200 megawatts (MW) of nuclear capacity by 2032, increasing to 2,400 MW by 2035 and 4,800 MW by 2050 under the Clean Energy Scenario.

Aperocho said the company continues to explore nuclear partnerships after a cooperation agreement with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. to study its Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) technology that did not push through. 

He credited Meralco’s proactive stance for securing the USTDA grant. “Even without the law, we already signed a lot of potential partnerships and we even sent scholars,” he said, referring to the FISSION scholarship and training program launched in 2023 to train Filipino nuclear engineers in the United States and China.

While SMRs typically range from 300 to 500 MW in capacity, Aperocho noted that Meralco remains open to developing conventional nuclear facilities. He cited the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant’s potential rehabilitation. 

The Philippines is also preparing its regulatory and institutional framework for nuclear energy, including the planned creation of an independent nuclear regulatory body by 2028 and DOE proposals to classify early nuclear projects as “pioneer projects” eligible for incentives.

The USTDA grant is part of the wider U.S.–Philippines cooperation on nuclear development, which includes a civil nuclear industry working group aimed at fostering partnerships and knowledge exchange for safe and reliable nuclear deployment.

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