SMRS & ADVANCED REACTORS | SMR SCORE CARD
in 2026; Russia’s 300 MWe BREST-OD-300 lead-cooled fast reactor, expected to begin operation in 2028/29; Argentina 32 MWe CAREM integral PWR (construction was suspended late 2024 to focus on design revision); and Russia’s 50 MWe RITM-200M integral PWR for floating NPPs planned for operation by 2030. SMRs in the advanced stage of licensing include
RITM-200N, BWRX-300, VOYAGR, i-SMR, Xe-100, SMR-300, KP-FHR, AP300 and Rolls Royce SMR. Russia’s 55 MWe RITM-200N integral PWR ground-
based SMR received a licence permit for construction in April 2023 and commissioning of a single unit in Yakutia is expected in 2028. Preparation for six units to be deployed in Jizzakh region in Uzbekistan has started marking the first export of an SMR from Russia. For GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 (US and Canada) 290 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR) Ontario Power Generation (OPG) was granted a construction licence by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in April 2025. A contract has been awarded to BWXT to manufacture the reactor pressure vessel for the first BWRX-300 to be constructed at OPG’s Darlington site. On-going early site preparation for four units is underway with commissioning for the first unit expected in 2030. NuScale’s VOYGR (US), a 50 MWe integral PWR was
certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January 2023 and in May 2025 it also received standard design approval for its uprated 250 MWt (77 MWe) NuScale Power Modules. The first six-module deployment is now earmarked for Romania. A US project with thyey Utah Associated Municipal Power System was cancelled in November 2023 and now the focus in on expanding in several embarking countries. South Korea’s i-SMR (innovative Small Modular Reactor)
is a 170 MWe integral PWR in an advanced development phase, with the government aiming for commercialisation by 2035 and a demonstration plant incorporated into the national energy plan. The i-SMR is currently in the standard design and preliminary design review phase. The government and the i-SMR Development Agency aim to complete standard design approval by 2028. Standard design approval is expected in 2028. In July 2024, an i-SMR simulator was launched to support research, development, and training for the system. X-energy’s Xe-100 (US) is a 80 MWe, HTGR technology.
X-energy announced plans in 2023 to build four Xe-100 SMRs at a Dow industrial site in Seadrift, Texas with construction due to start in 2026. X-energy has also signed a joint development agreement with Energy Northwest for the deployment of up to 12 Xe-100 plants in central Washington State. Amazon had invested in X-energy to support Xe-100 deployment. Holtec’s SMR-300 (US), a 320 MWe two-loop PWR but
with major integration. The pressuriser is built directly on top of the Steam Generator, eliminating external piping and simplifying the coolant system. It has reached an advanced stage of licensing. In Feb 2024, the Palisades NPP site in Michigan was selected as the site for a first-of-a-kind SMR-300. Holtec has partnered with Hyundai E&C for SMR-300 construction. The SMR-300 has completed the first phase of the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. Kairos Power’s 140 MWe Fluoride Salt-Cooled
High-Temperature Reactor (KP-FHR) project (US) is progressing, with construction underway on the Hermes demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for estimated operation in 2027. The KP-FHR received a construction permit from the US NRC in December
www.neimagazine.com | March 2026 | 27
Above: Status of SMR Development and Deployment, based on updates from technology developers to IAEA in 2024. Source: IAEA
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