Small Modular Reactors in the US: The 2026 Deployment Race
The US small modular reactor industry crossed a psychological threshold this year. No SMR has entered commercial operation domestically, but 2026 is shaping up as the year the first construction permits and criticality milestones actually land — and the trigger isn’t climate policy, it’s AI data-center power demand.
The Federal Push
The Department of Energy’s Gen III+ SMR Pathway to Deployment Program has become the primary vehicle for de-risking early builds. DOE issued a $900 million solicitation in March 2025, followed by $800 million in Tier 1 awards in December 2025 to the Tennessee Valley Authority and Holtec Government Services. In May 2026, DOE added a further $94 million across eight companies under Tier 2, targeting licensing, supply chain, and site preparation gaps that have historically stalled domestic nuclear projects.
Running in parallel is a separate DOE pilot program with a symbolic deadline: at least three pilot reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026, timed to the nation’s 250th anniversary. Antares Nuclear reportedly reached that milestone in June, becoming the first private company to bring a reactor to criticality under the program.
The Lead Projects
TVA / GE Vernova Hitachi — TVA plans to deploy a BWRX-300 at the Clinch River Nuclear site in Tennessee, backed by $400 million in DOE Tier 1 funding.
Holtec — Plans call for two SMR-300 reactors at the former Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan. Holtec is taking a one-stop-shop approach, acting as technology vendor, constructor (with Hyundai E&C), and operator. The company filed its NRC construction permit application in December 2025 and filed for an IPO in February 2026, reportedly targeting a valuation above $10 billion.
TerraPower (Natrium) — The sodium-cooled Natrium design in Kemmerer, Wyoming, cleared its NRC environmental review in October 2025 and received a final safety evaluation in December 2025, with a construction permit decision expected in the first half of 2026. Meta has committed to up to eight Natrium plants, and Nvidia’s venture arm has also invested in the company.
X-energy (Xe-100) — Dow Chemical selected the Xe-100 for a Texas facility, with NRC expected to complete its safety evaluation by November 2026. Separately, Amazon partnered with Energy Northwest and X-energy to deploy up to 12 reactors in Washington state.
Oklo (Aurora) — Broke ground at Idaho National Laboratory in September 2025, backed by a 1.2 GW data-center supply deal with Meta.
NuScale (VOYGR) — Remains the only NRC-certified SMR design, though its highest-profile near-term deployment has shifted toward a plant in Romania rather than a US site.
Site Permitting Is Moving Too
Beyond the reactor projects themselves, utilities are lining up Early Site Permits to bank optionality: Constellation is pursuing one for a New York location, and Nebraska Public Power District for a site in Nebraska — both explicitly framed as groundwork for future Gen III+ SMR deployment rather than committed projects.
Why Now
The catalyst is different from the last SMR hype cycle. It isn’t decarbonization mandates — it’s hyperscalers. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google need firm, round-the-clock power for AI data centers that intermittent renewables can’t reliably supply without expensive battery buffering. That demand is what’s turned Meta, Amazon, and Nvidia into direct counterparties and investors in reactor companies rather than passive offtakers, and it’s why the SMR sector’s 2026 milestones are being watched as closely by tech investors as by energy analysts.
No US SMR is generating commercial power yet. But between TerraPower and Holtec’s pending construction permits and the DOE pilot program’s criticality push, the sector looks close to converting a decade of paper designs into steel in the ground.