Small Modular Reactors

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are compact nuclear power plants, typically generating a few hundred megawatts or less, built largely from factory-fabricated components rather than assembled entirely on-site. The pitch is straightforward: lower upfront capital costs, faster construction timelines, and siting flexibility compared with traditional gigawatt-scale nuclear plants. Designs vary widely, from evolutionary light-water reactors to advanced concepts using molten salt, high-temperature gas, or liquid-metal cooling, each with different fuel, safety, and regulatory profiles.

The technology has moved from a niche engineering pursuit to a central piece of the conversation about how to power an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Data centers running large AI models need enormous, reliable, round-the-clock electricity, and utilities and tech companies alike are questioning whether wind, solar, and gas alone can meet that demand fast enough. SMRs are being positioned as a firm, low-carbon complement, and sometimes a direct replacement, for other generation sources near data center campuses.

That urgency has attracted significant capital and unusual partnerships, but it has also sharpened scrutiny. Cost overruns and delays have plagued earlier SMR ventures, and many designs remain unlicensed or unproven at commercial scale, leaving investors and utilities weighing genuine promise against speculative risk.

On this hub, readers will find ongoing coverage of reactor developers and their funding rounds, utility and government site selections, regulatory milestones, hybrid power projects pairing nuclear with gas or renewables, and the broader debate over whether SMRs can realistically be deployed in time to meet the AI industry's power demands.