SMRS & ADVANCED REACTORS | SMR SCORE CARD
IAEA flags leading SMR projects
The IAEA’s latest SMR catalogue gives an up to date snap shot of progress on this promising area of nuclear technology development and flags winners and losers in the race to commercial deployment.
By Judith Perera
THE LATEST VERSION OF the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Small Modular Reactors – Catalogue 2024 (updated to June 2025) reports advances in design developments of all the major technology lines. It covers land-based and marine based water-cooled reactors; high temperature gas cooled reactors; liquid metal, sodium and gas-cooled fast neutron spectrum reactors; molten salt reactors; and microreactors. The content on the specific small modular reactor (SMR) designs is provided by the responsible institute or organisation. The catalogue was developed by the Nuclear Power
Russia’s 300 MWe BREST-OD-300 lead- cooled fast reactor is expected to begin operations in 2028 or 2029. Source: Rosatom
Technology Development Section, Division of Nuclear Power of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy (NENP/ NPTDS) in cooperation with SMR technology developers from member states. The IAEA has been publishing Booklets (or catalogues) on the status of small modular reactor (SMR) technology developments biannually since 2012 to provide member states with a concise overview of the latest status of SMR designs. Since then, the SMR booklet has been listing an increasing number of designs, with the 2022 edition featuring 83 designs. Although close to a hundred designs could have been listed in the 2024 edition, only 70 active designs with demonstrated sustained development were selected. “Even among these active designs, not all of them are expected to develop into real commercial products, as some designs
are developed as proofs of concept or study material,” the introduction notes. Frederik Reitsma, head of the Nuclear Power
Technology Development Section told NEI that the new listing was based on updates. “In the past we included older designs that were maybe not actively being pursued anymore. So we basically just ask for updates. The ones we didn’t get updates for, we didn’t include them again. Also, we didn’t include small projects such as university student projects - otherwise there would have been over 90.”
Mohammad Hadid Subki, a senior technical expert in the Nuclear Power Technology Development Section, specialising in SMRs, said about 1% of the earlier listings had been dropped which were no longer showing progress of development in the past three or four years. “We focused only on the others, not only near-term deployable projects but even pre-conceptual designs for deployment beyond 2030 - but projects that are active,” he noted. According to the latest assessment by NENP/NPTDS on the Deployment and Development Status of SMRs, (see map) there are currently two in operation and four under construction as well as nine in the advanced stage of licensing. Of these 15, the majority (eight) are pressurised water reactors (PWRs) as well as three high temperature reactors (HTRs – two gas cooled and one fluoride salt cooled) one boiling water reactor (BWR), and one lead-cooled fast reactor. Most of the PWR designs are integral pressurised
water reactors (iPWRs) in which major primary system components, such as steam generators, the core, and even the pressuriser, are integrated within a single reactor pressure vessel (RPV). This removes the need for large primary coolant piping, which greatly reduces the risk of large loss-of-coolant accidents and increases inherent safety. However, they are more complex to construct than classic loop-type PWRs. Many developers are now adopting this design for next-generation SMRs. Already in operation are: Russia’s floating NPP
Akademik Lomonosov powered by two 35 MWe KLT40S integral (PWRs), which began operation in May 2020 and has already completed its first fuel cycle; and China’s HTR-PM comprising two pebble-bed high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) modules generating 200 MWe from a single turbine unit, which began operation in 2023. Those under construction include: China’s ACP100, a 125 MWe integral PWR, expected to start operation
26 | March 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
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