Holtec International

Holtec International was founded in 1986 by Dr. Kris Singh, an engineer who immigrated from India and recognized an opportunity to design superior dry cask storage systems for spent nuclear fuel. Singh founded the company in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and built it organically without venture capital over nearly four decades into one of the most prominent nuclear technology companies in the United States. As of 2024, Holtec’s headquarters moved to Camden, New Jersey, as part of a major manufacturing complex developed there. Singh serves as President and CEO and remains the company’s primary owner.

Holtec International operates in two major areas. Its Nuclear Decommissioning business has made it the leading commercial decommissioner of US nuclear power plants: the company has committed to purchasing, decommissioning, and restoring sites including Indian Point (New York), Pilgrim (Massachusetts), Oyster Creek (New Jersey), Palisades (Michigan), and Kewaunee (Wisconsin). Holtec’s strategy is unique — it takes legal and financial ownership of the plants and their nuclear waste rather than just contracting for the work, accepting decommissioning trust funds as payment and managing the entire process to permanent site clearance. Its Storage and Transportation division is the market leader in spent nuclear fuel dry cask storage and transportation systems, with over 1,400 HI-STORM and HI-STAR systems deployed at plants worldwide.

Holtec’s advanced reactor division is developing the SMR-160, a 160 MWe small modular reactor using a light water design with entirely passive safety — no pumps or active systems required during normal operation or accident scenarios. The SMR-160 is designed to operate entirely underground, further enhancing its safety profile. Holtec has submitted a design certification application to the US NRC and is pursuing international deployment opportunities, including in Canada (with SNC-Lavalin’s successor Atkins Réalis). The company also received a $1.52 billion DOE loan guarantee in 2023 to restore and reopen the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan — the first-ever effort to restart a fully decommissioned US nuclear plant.

Holtec operates a global manufacturing network including its HOLTEC Manufacturing Division in Camden, NJ, and international facilities. The company employs approximately 3,000 people worldwide. It received $147 million from the DOE under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program for SMR-160 development.