Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are no longer just a futuristic concept; they are a critical national security priority for the United States. This shift in focus from economics and climate change to energy security is a significant development, one that could shape the country's future military readiness and technological dominance. The global competition with China, which extends beyond trade and tariffs, highlights the importance of reliable and abundant electric power for industrial capacity, technological advancements, and defense production.
In my opinion, the urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. The U.S. faces a unique challenge: an energy demand that is at capacity and vulnerable to various threats, including cyberattacks, physical sabotage, and extreme weather events. Intermittent energy sources alone cannot meet the scale and reliability requirements necessary to sustain America's strategic position. This is where SMRs come into play, offering a realistic solution to meet these demands on a shorter timeline than legacy power systems.
What makes SMRs particularly fascinating is their ability to be smaller, factory-manufactured, and more flexible in deployment. They can be built to support specific industrial facilities, defense installations, and remote or constrained environments where grid reliability is a concern. This 'behind-the-meter' deployment capability, in particular, could fundamentally reshape military and industrial resilience in the United States. By placing reactors adjacent to mission-critical facilities, the country can reduce its dependence on centralized transmission systems, which are vulnerable to disruption.
However, the deployment of SMRs is not without its challenges. One of the least discussed but most consequential issues is fuel availability. Several next-generation reactor concepts depend on High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), a fuel source that lacks large-scale commercial availability in North America and is tied to Russian-controlled enrichment capacity. This presents a strategic vulnerability that the United States cannot afford to ignore. Energy independence cannot exist if critical fuel supply chains remain dependent on geopolitical competitors or unstable foreign markets.
The recent collaboration between the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), ENTRA1 Energy, and NuScale Power is a significant development. It signals a broader shift from discussion to deployment, reflecting growing recognition that advanced nuclear energy may soon become indispensable to supporting America's industrial expansion, digital economy, and national security infrastructure. However, the U.S. must move with urgency, as China is rapidly expanding its nuclear footprint domestically and internationally, posing a significant strategic challenge.
NuScale Power, the only SMR developer with full U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standard design approval and a commercially deployable, regulator-approved SMR technology transitioning to manufacturing, is in a unique position. Most competing SMR and Generation IV reactor companies are years away from NRC approval or rely on unproven fuel supply chains. This means that the U.S. currently has NRC-approved SMR technology with a near-term pathway toward commercial deployment at scale.
In my view, the debate over SMRs should not be framed solely as an energy issue. It is fundamentally about whether the United States can maintain military readiness, secure critical infrastructure, support advanced manufacturing, power the AI revolution, and preserve geopolitical leadership in an increasingly unstable world. Energy dominance is no longer simply economic policy; it is national defense policy. Small Modular Reactors allow America to maintain its strategic advantage, ensuring that the country can generate enough resilient, secure baseload electricity to support its defense industrial base and rapidly expanding digital infrastructure.
