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on 3/13/24 at 7:50 PM
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are technologies capable of harnessing the energy from nuclear fission reactions to produce heat and electricity with power outputs typically smaller than 300 MWe, with some as small as 1-10 MWe. SMRs are designed for modular manufacturing, factory production, portability and scalability. They also come in a variety of configurations and temperature ranges to create heat that can be used directly, or to generate electricity to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors. The combination of these innovations presents additional potential benefits in terms of safety, operational and deployment flexibility, economics, as well as potentially spent fuel and waste management.
The second edition of the NEA SMR Dashboard provides a comprehensive assessment of the progress made by SMR designers and companies worldwide. Looking beyond technical feasibility, the NEA SMR Dashboard assesses progress towards first-of-a-kind commercial deployment across six dimensions: licensing, siting, financing, supply chain, engagement and fuel. The NEA SMR Dashboard reveals substantial progress towards SMR deployment and commercialisation in NEA and non-NEA member countries, with a subset of designs in more advanced stages of commercialisation and deployment.
For this second edition of the NEA SMR Dashboard the NEA’s comprehensive global review identified 98 SMR technologies around the world. Fifty-six SMRs are included in this edition of the NEA SMR Dashboard. The other 42 include approximately 7 that are under development and requested not to be included in the SMR Dashboard at this time but may be included in the future; the remainder include SMR technologies that are not under active development, may be without human or financial resources, or have been cancelled or paused indefinitely. The assessments in this edition of the SMR Dashboard are based on progress up to a cutoff date of 10 November 2023.
Compilation of information for The NEA Small Modular Reactor Dashboard
When completing the assessments for the NEA SMR Dashboard: Second Edition, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has exclusively used information from verifiable public sources. These sources are available on the NEA website.
The majority of the sources are from third party references (e.g. governments, regulators, financiers, operators). None of the sources are from the SMR designers, except for some relating to fuel type, enrichment, reactor specifics and public announcements of financing. The NEA has made its best efforts to search available public sources which have been used to compile the assessment results.
Prior to publication, the SMR designers were consulted by the NEA and provided with a list of the sources used to compile the assessment. They were given the opportunity to comment on the draft assessments and supplement further information which could be independently verified. If this further information was independently verified, it has been used in the final published assessment.
The criteria to obtain the assessment
The assessments are driven by objective criteria applied to information compiled from public sources. They are not the subjective judgement of analysts. The criteria used for the evaluation is detailed in Annex 1 of this document. The information used in the assessment was provided to the SMR designers for their awareness prior to publications. In this context, the SMR designers were provided with an opportunity to comment and provide further information that could be independently verified. The assessments in no way reflect the opinion of the OECD or the NEA.
