Small modular reactor developers reached a series of milestones heading into mid-2026, moving the technology closer to commercial deployment in the United States. NuScale Power remains the only SMR design with full NRC certification, and in a 2025 agreement it partnered with ENTRA1 Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority on a 6-gigawatt deployment program.
TerraPower is furthest along in construction. The company broke ground on the first U.S. advanced reactor at Kemmerer, Wyoming, and the NRC completed its environmental review in October 2025 and issued a final safety evaluation in December. A decision on the construction permit is expected in the first half of 2026. Meta has agreed to support up to eight of TerraPower's Natrium plants, tying the technology to growing data center power needs.
Other developers are progressing as well. Oklo broke ground on its Aurora Powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory in September 2025, with an initial 15-megawatt design that scales to 50 to 75 megawatts commercially. Kairos Power sits among the companies with the most advanced NRC engagement, alongside TerraPower's construction permit application under review.
The activity reflects a shift in how utilities and large power users view nuclear. Factory-built reactors promise faster, more predictable construction than traditional large plants, and technology companies seeking reliable low-carbon power for artificial intelligence workloads have emerged as key backers of the first projects.
Source: SMR Intel -- https://smrintel.com/state-of-smr-2026/