SMR market outlook: NuScale Power and GE Vernova lead growth

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are compact, prefabricated nuclear units that can be combined to form larger plants, making them suitable for remote locations and data‑center power. The International Energy Agency projects global SMR investment to rise from about $5 billion today to over $25 billion by 2030 and to reach $670 billion by 2050.

NuScale Power’s VOYGR SMR (77 MWe) is the only design certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is expected to generate revenue from engineering, licensing and consulting work before its first reactors come online in the early 2030s in the United States and Romania. GE Vernova’s larger BWRX‑300 SMR (300 MWe) is not yet NRC‑certified but aims to install its first unit in Canada by 2030.

A techno‑economic study by the H₂Zero Research Unit at Frederick University found that SMR‑generated electricity could cost between US$90/MWh for small units and US$46/MWh for larger ones. The same reactors could produce desalinated water at US$0.65‑0.43 per cubic metre and pink hydrogen at US$6.95‑3.76 per kilogram. Deploying SMRs alongside renewables could accelerate full power‑sector decarbonisation, enable large‑scale hydrogen production after 2035, and cut integrated water‑hydrogen infrastructure costs by 20‑30 %.