This article is a contribution to the NNWI Conference 2026: Powering Industrial Decarbonisation.
_______________
Since 2022, changes in global energy policy priorities have sparked a resurgence of interest in nuclear energy. This trend is driven by a combination of factors, including geopolitical shifts impacting energy security, renewed focus on energy systems resilience, national decarbonization commitments, and the growing demand for clean electricity. Nuclear energy, once sidelined in international climate discussions, has gained international recognition as a crucial component in achieving climate change mitigation targets.
Against this backdrop, small modular reactors (SMRs) have advanced from promising innovation to first-of-a-kind commercial projects. The NEA Small Modular Reactor Dashboard has been tracking this progress since 2023, providing policymakers with objective, data-driven insights into the evolving SMR landscape. Recent evidence confirms a clear acceleration in SMR development worldwide. Drivers of energy diversification and transition are intensifying, positioning nuclear energy and SMRs in national energy strategies. As of 2024, more than 51 SMR designs have entered pre-licensing discussions with nuclear regulators. Those SMR designs are considering deployment at 85 sites worldwide that are in active siting discussions. These sites could provide electricity as well as energy for new markets such as industrial heat, hydrogen, and cogeneration for applications such as district heating. These conversations are not being led by utilities alone, but also by industrial customers, universities, and other end-users.
One-third of near-term SMR siting activities are concentrated in five application areas: i) replacing coal-fired generation, ii) substituting fossil-fuel based industrial cogeneration (including hydrogen production), iii) replacing diesel in remote mining operations, iv) providing district energy systems, and v) delivering off-grid power solutions.
The NEA’s upcoming report Nuclear Energy Outlook assesses the market for SMRs by sector and region, and projects installed SMR capacity based on possible project delivery models. These projections range from 30 to more than 150 GWe of SMRs by 2050 which would translate into SMRs accounting for up to 10% of global installed nuclear capacity by 2050.
Such a large-scale deployment of SMRs would depend on implementing innovative mass manufacturing delivery models that could dramatically increase the speed and scale of SMRs rollout. Achieving this potential will likely require a transformation in the global governance of nuclear energy projects, such as establishing policy and regulatory frameworks for product-based licensing and the use of pre-qualified sites, as well as measures such as aggregating demand for robust order books.
