U.S. Energy Department Announces $900 Million to Advance Small Modular Reactor Technologies

The U.S. Energy Department on Oct.16 launched a $900 million funding opportunity to support projects that will facilitate initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactor technologies. Applications are due by Jan. 17, 2025.

The funding comes from allocations in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 utilizing funds from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA. The Appropriations Act allocates a total of $1.69 billion for nuclear energy research, development, and demonstration activities.

The department plans to offer the funding in two tiers. Tier 1 is the First Mover Team Support, overseen by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. For this tier, $800 million is available to support two first-mover teams involving utilities, reactor vendors, or end-users committed to deploying a first plant featuring multi-reactor, Gen III+ SMR technology.

The remaining $100 million is available for Tier 2, the Fast Follower Deployment Support, administered by the Office of Nuclear Energy. These projects will encourage the deployment of additional Gen III+ SMR deployment, and address key hurdles in areas such as design, licensing, supplier development, and site preparation that have impeded the domestic nuclear industry.

The U.S. requires around 700-900 gigawatts of additional clean power generation capacity to reach its net zero goals by 2050, according to the department. There has been widespread support for nuclear energy to meet this need given the zero carbon attributes of nuclear power. In 2023, nuclear energy accounted for almost 50 percent of carbon-free electricity in the U.S.

The focus on decarbonization and energy security has elevated the importance of nuclear power as a critical technology to achieve national and state goals. The IIJA has a $6 billion provision, called the Civil Nuclear Credits Program, to prevent the premature retirement of existing zero-carbon nuclear plants. Earlier this month, the department provided a $2.8 billion loan guarantee to recommission the retired 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan.