National regulators should collaborate through bilateral and multinational agreements on design and safety reviews, share technical reviews, establish common positions on safety criteria, and make appropriate use of existing reference SMR design reviews to streamline SMR licensing processes.

With a focus on continuing its progress at pace, the UK SMR team is transitioning from being a collaborative consortium to a stand-alone business, which will deliver a UK fleet of power stations to become a low carbon energy bastion alongside renewables,

The NuScale Power Module is a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single unit.

“FIRST is a capacity-building programme designed to deepen strategic ties, support energy innovation, and advance technical collaboration with partner nations on secure and safe nuclear energy infrastructure.”

"In the medium and long term, JGC Corporation will work with Fluor to secure and execute SMR EPC projects on a global basis, and intends to seek opportunities in integrating SMRs with renewable energy, as well as with hydrogen production and seawater desalination," JGC said.

Between 2035-2050, SMRs could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 216 megatonnes (Mt) in the heavy industrial sector. Canadian emissions from this sector are currently about 700 Mt per year.

According to the study, a 300 MWe grid-scale SMR built in Ontario and operated for 60 years would create direct and related employment including nearly 700 jobs during project development, over 1600 jobs during manufacturing and construction, over 200 jobs during operations, and about 160 jobs during decommissioning.

If you build an SMR in the U.S., for example, you can’t sell it in Canada until Canadian regulators have approved the design. And the same goes for every other nuclear market in the world. Even nuclear insiders recognize that this could be a big issue for SMRs.

It is the policy of the United States to promote advanced reactor technologies, including small modular reactors, to support defense installation energy flexibility and energy security, and for use in space exploration,

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a recent report said more than 70 SMR designs and concepts exist worldwide. SMRs also are being touted for their ability to work as a multi-module plant, combining modules for more power output.