Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 03/16/16

DOE is supporting SMRs. SMRs are nuclear power plants that are smaller in size (300 MWe or less) than current generation base load nuclear power plants (1,000 MWe or higher). These smaller, compact designs are factory-fabricated reactors that can be transported by truck or rail to a nuclear power site. SMRs will play an important role in addressing the energy security, economic and climate goals of the U.S. if they can be commercially deployed within the next decade. Development of clean, affordable nuclear power options is a primary element of the DOE- Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap, and SMRs are a key part of this strategy. Begun in FY12, the SMR Licensing Technical Support (LTS) Program has worked with industry partners, research institutions, the national laboratories, and academia to advance the certification, licensing, and siting of domestic SMR designs, and to reduce economic, technical, and regulatory barriers to their deployment. The SMR LTS program promotes the accelerated deployment of SMRs by supporting certification, licensing, and siting requirements for U.S. based SMR projects. The SMR LTS program originally supported the preparation and review of two design certification applications and the site licensing of one of those designs. Currently, it is supporting the preparation and review of one design certification application and furtherance of its first-of-a-kind engineering design, as well as two site licensing projects.