Small modular reactor development reached a series of concrete milestones in 2026, moving several US designs from paper into licensing and construction. NuScale Power remains the only SMR design with full Nuclear Regulatory Commission certification, after its 77-megawatt US460 design received standard design approval in May 2025.
Construction activity is now underway across multiple projects. TerraPower secured its NRC construction permit for the Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming and broke ground, marking the first US advanced reactor construction start. Kairos Power holds the first NRC construction permit for an advanced reactor, and Oklo broke ground at Idaho National Laboratory in September 2025.
Corporate power agreements are accelerating the timeline. In August 2025, Google signed the first corporate SMR power purchase agreement with Kairos Power, tied to the Hermes 2 project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is set to supply 50 megawatts by 2030. Technology companies are increasingly contracting future reactor output to power AI data centers, providing developers with committed demand.
The field is led by a handful of companies with the most advanced regulatory engagement. NuScale carries a market value near 5.3 billion dollars as the only certified design, while Oklo ranks as the largest SMR company by market value near 12.9 billion dollars and has arranged a 1.2 gigawatt power campus deal in Ohio. TerraPower and Kairos sit next in line with deep NRC engagement. The milestones mark a transition from design approval toward physical deployment of factory-built nuclear power.
Source: SMR Intel - https://smrintel.com/state-of-smr-2026/