Company: HVIIR
Filing Date: 2025-12-23
Form Type: S-4
Source: 0001493152-25-029121
Chunk: 101

Company: Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. VII
Filing Date: 2025-12-23
Form: S-4
Chunk 101
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, and operating conditions. The NRC’s review process involves an analysis of the proposed site for the nuclear reactor, which is why some applicants seek an early site permit from the NRC prior to submitting the COL Application.

ONE Nuclear’s license application under Part 52 of the NRC’s regulations (10 CFR Part 52) (“Part 52”) will need to achieve specified milestones prior to final approval. The Part 52 license is a combined construction and operating license, with parallel licensing tracks related to safety and the environment converging on a mandatory hearing and an ultimate decision at the end of the process.

NRC performs a safety review of each reactor application to assess whether it provides reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety. This involves review of preliminary and Final Safety Analysis Reports. NRC can request additional information during this review, or the parties can agree on a regulatory audit. Prolongation of this process poses a significant cost and schedule risk to ONE Nuclear’s proposed nuclearpower projects.

NRC concurrently performs an environmental review which incorporates compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). NEPA reviews typically require preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”), which is the most detailed level of review provided for under NEPA, though the NRC has recently attempted to perform less intensive Environmental Assessments (“EA”). It is noteworthy that the DOE has recently proposed a modification of its NEPA review regulations that includes several enumerated “categorical exceptions,” which are intended to safely reduce the time required to produce EA and EIS reviews for components of new nuclear power plants that will be subject to such “categorical exceptions,” thereby not requiring an environmental analysis of such components. However, there is no guarantee that ONE Nuclear will be able to qualify for any of these exceptions. Whether performing an EIS or an EA, the environmental review process may be time consuming, and changes or delays to the process present significant cost and schedule risks for ONE Nuclear’s proposed power projects.

The COL Application will incorporates by reference a chosen reactor design. Though the combined license will include the right to operate the reactor, it will be contingent on construction of the reactors conforming exactly to the design, with accuracy measured by a series of Inspections, Test, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (“ITAAC”) derived from both the design certification and certain site specific characteristics, and evaluated by the NRC as part of a quality assurance regime, which involves thousands of hours of inspection during construction. Modifying ITAAC, which may be required due to shifts in the sequence