The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission certified NuScale Power Corp.'s small modular reactor design, the first SMR design certified by the federal regulator and the seventh reactor design cleared for use in the U.S.

The commission's final rule on the small modular reactor design, which takes effect Feb. 21, "equips the nation with a new clean power source to help drive down emissions," the U.S. Energy Department's Office of Nuclear Energy said in a Jan. 20 announcement. The final rulemaking allows utilities to reference NuScale's SMR design when applying for a combined license to build and operate a reactor.

"SMRs are no longer an abstract concept," said Kathryn Huff, the Office of Nuclear Energy's assistant secretary for nuclear energy. "They are real and they are ready for deployment thanks to the hard work of NuScale, the university community, our national labs, industry partners and the NRC. This is innovation at its finest, and we are just getting started here in the U.S."

NuScale's design is an advanced light-water SMR with each power module capable of generating about 50 MW. NuScale is seeking an uprate to enable each module to generate up to 77 MW, and the NRC is expected to review its application this year.

NuScale's "VOYGR" SMR power plant can house up to 12 factory-built power modules that are about a third of the size of a large-scale reactor, according to the Office of Nuclear Energy. Each module leverages natural processes such as convection and gravity to passively cool the reactor without additional water, power or operator action.

The DOE has provided more than $600 million since 2014 to support the design, licensing and siting of the VOYGR plant and other domestic SMR concepts, according to the Office of Nuclear Energy.

The department is working with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems to demonstrate a six-module NuScale VOYGR plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. The first module is expected to be operational by 2029, with full plant operation the following year.

NuScale has 19 signed and active domestic and international agreements to deploy SMR plants in 12 countries including the Czech Republic, Jordan, Poland and Romania, according to the Office of Nuclear Energy.

But the SMR developer faces some headwinds. An early NRC assessment of NuScale's application to boost the output of its flagship reactor identified several "challenging and/or significant issues" that could slow NuScale's expansion plans at an inopportune time, with the finances of the planned deployment at the Idaho National Laboratory under scrutiny.

NuScale President and CEO John Hopkins acknowledged in November 2022 that the project had been buffeted by rising supply and financing costs, with some municipal backers considering pulling out.

Increasing the SMR's output could significantly improve financial projections for the Idaho plant and for future deployments.

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