TAKEAWAYS

• The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Dashboard provides analysis of 21 SMR designs and their progress towards deployment and commercialization.
• The Dashboard looks beyond technology readiness level (TRL) criteria and assesses progress across six additional enabling conditions: licensing readiness, siting, financing, supply chain, engagement and fuel.
• The Dashboard can help decision-makers and industry professionals evaluate the progress on deployment of SMRs and could help identify challenges and opportunities for these technologies.

On March 13, 2023, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) announced publication of the Small Modular Reactor Dashboard, a compilation of verified publicly available information on progress-to-date towards SMR first-of-a-kind (FOAK) deployment and commercialization. This information aims to help the public understand the pace of progress to commercial deployment of these technologies as governments consider available paths to achieve net zero by 2050.

Nuclear energy is the largest source of non-emitting electricity generation in OECD countries, and the second largest source worldwide after hydropower. Existing nuclear capacity displaces 1.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, and since 1971 has displaced 66 gigatons of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of two years of global emissions. At present, SMRs are being developed to not only provide electricity but to also target hard-to-abate sectors and applications where variable renewables and large-scale nuclear energy have limitations, such as providing a non-emitting alternative for marine merchant shipping propulsion and delivering large-scale production of hydrogen. SMRs will thus likely have an essential and increasingly important role to play in increasing global supply of nuclear capacity and supporting decarbonization targets.

As a class of reactors, SMRs are defined by their smaller size, but there exists considerable variety; they vary by power output, temperature output, technology and fuel cycle. A number of SMRs are based on existing commercially deployed light water technologies, while others are based on advanced design and fuel concepts.

The NEA Small Modular Reactor Dashboard includes an analysis of 21 different SMR designs. The Dashboard looks beyond TRL criteria to assess progress of these designs across six key areas: licensing readiness, siting, financing, supply chain, engagement and fuel. Taken together with assessments about TRL, the SMR Dashboard presents evidence as to which SMR technologies and projects are moving rapidly from concept to commercialization in various markets around the world. In announcing the program, Director-General William D. Magwood explained that the “next five to ten years is going to be pivotal in terms of getting these new technologies to market. The NEA SMR Dashboard will help decision-makers understand the pace of progress to commercial deployment of these technologies as they consider the paths available to achieve net zero by 2050.”

The SMR Dashboard could be a valuable tool for industry professionals or policymakers to evaluate the current stage of various technologies and identify opportunities and challenges to successful near-term deployment of SMRs.

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