The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), which is an agency of the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, has published the third edition of its “NEA Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Dashboard”. This shows that there has been notable progress in the development and deployment of SMRs around the world.

“The overarching developments reflected in the “NEA SMR Dashboard” are clear: the strategic drivers for SMR deployment – rising electricity demand, including from data centres and expanding digital services, energy security imperatives and the national goals set by many countries to reduce carbon emissions – are intensifying,” reported NEA director-general William D Magwood IV. “SMRs are now a core part of the energy strategies in an increasing number of countries in all parts of the world.”

This latest edition of the Dashboard analysed 74 SMR designs. The intent was to evaluate their progress in the spheres of licensing, siting, funding, supply chain development and fuel.

Of these 74 designs, seven are already operating or under construction. There is a strong contingent of projects moving to first-of-a-kind deployment, with 51 designs, in 15 countries, going through pre-licensing or licensing processes. Since the previous edition of the Dashboard had been released, last year, the number of SMR designs that have secured at least a single source of financing, or made announcements about financial commitments, has increased by 81%.  

The NEA noted that the diversity of SMR designs available had an upside and a downside. On the upside, it gave potential customers a wide range of options. On the downside, it presented issues for regulators and challenges to the industrial supply chain. But the Dashboard pointed out that there were opportunities to rationalise global supply chains, facilitate standardisation and improve the economic viability of SMRs.

The Dashboard included evaluations of two South African SMR designs. These were the Eskom A-HTR-100 (previously known as the PBMR) and the Stratek Global HTMR-100. For both designs, it noted that, at the time of their assessment, there was no verifiable public information about them starting pre-licensing or licensing processes.