Executive Summary: Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) Will Accelerate New Nuclear Developments
SMRs must overcome challenges securing customers and navigating long licensing timelines to initiate first of a kind plants
- Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and microreactors can firm power supply, provide stable energy, leverage high capacity factors, provide sources of heat for industrial decarbonization, and be located on-site reducing strain on grid infrastructure and transmission
- Gen III reactors benefit from using existing technology and supply chains but are still quite large and capex heavy while novel Gen IV reactors innovating with various coolants and fuels may be able to develop safer and cost-effective small reactors capable of accessing new markets but may face supply chain challenges
- Challenges for new nuclear builds can be similar other sectors (like offshore wind) especially due to high costs of materials like reinforced concrete however as a nascent industry these setbacks and delays(Ie; TerraPower and NuScale) have an outsized affect given the overall smaller size of the SMR sector
- Applications for SMRs range from repurposing coal mines, supporting construction sites, hydrogen production, data centers, heavy industry, grid scale energy production, desalination, district heating, microgrids and other use cases as developers build smaller reactors capable of high heat outputs for industrial use
- Innovators are also looking to overcome challenges with costs by advancing new reactor models and components:
- Leveraging new fuels (TRISO, HALEU etc.) and coolants to build smaller reactors that can reach higher temperatures to support industrial applications
- Incorporating passive safety mechanisms to ensure efficient shut downs and safety, streamlining construction and reducing costs from pumps and motors
- Incorporating off the shelf components for low-cost modular designs that can be further reduced through pre-fabrication and offsite assembly
- Leveraging new fuels (TRISO, HALEU etc.) and coolants to build smaller reactors that can reach higher temperatures to support industrial applications
- The demand for onsite, stable power generation that will not burden grid or transmission infrastructure will accelerate development for small reactors especially for industrial use cases and heat but will need to prove lower LCOE costs than wind and solar to attract utility buy in.
- Challenges for the sector include financing first of a kind projects, ensuring continued interest from customers and developing US and Canadian supply chains for fuels like HALEU, however SMRs utilizing LEU and waste fuels may subvert supply chain challenges and be competitive on costs
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