NuScale Wins US Approval for Small Nuclear Reactor Design

(Bloomberg) -- NuScale Power Corp., the only company with US approval for a small nuclear reactor, has now won regulatory support for a second design that may go into service by the end of the decade. 

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission formally authorized the company’s 77-megawatt reactor design, according to a statement Thursday. NuScale won similar approval in 2020 for a smaller, 60-megawatt version of the reactor, a first for the industry.

Global interest in nuclear energy has climbed as companies and governments clamor for clean electricity that’s available around the clock to power data centers and factories. NuScale and its peers are developing so-called small modular reactors that can be manufactured in factories and assembled in the field. 

The Trump administration is supporting the rollout of nuclear power, with the president last week signing executive orders aimed at expediting the deployment of SMRs and advanced reactors.

The SMR approach remains untested, with only a handful that have been built to date in China and Russia, but NuScale Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins said the NRC approval will help accelerate his plans. 

“This really is a huge milestone, not just for NuScale but for clean energy,” he said in an interview. “There’s worldwide demand for this.”

The company’s shares pared an earlier decline of as much as 8.3%, trading down 6% at 2:24 p.m. in New York.

NuScale is working with the developer Entra1, which is pursuing contracts to build nuclear power plants with several customers now, Hopkins said. He expects to complete a deal this year, possibly paving the way for delivering electricity by the end of the decade.

(Updates with comment from CEO beginning in fifth paragraph.)

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