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ISSN 2753-7757 (Online)

World-first for Canada as global interest in SMR surges

21/5/2025

News

CGI rendering of SMR building Photo: GE Vernova
CGI rendering of the GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 SMR

Photo: GE Vernova

Ontario Power Generation and GE Vernova Hitachi will build the Western world’s first small modular reactor (SMR) in Darlington, Canada – part of a four-unit BWRX-300 rollout set for completion by decade’s end. Globally, SMR interest is surging, with a 42% pipeline growth to 47 GW, driven by rising data centre energy demand. Meanwhile, the US fast-tracks uranium mining permits under emergency procedures to secure domestic supply and reduce foreign dependence.

 

 

Western-world SMR first for Canada

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) and Ontario Power Generation are planning to build what is claimed to be the first small modular reactor (SMR) in the Western world. Based on a boiling water reactor design, a total of four BWRX-300 SMRs will be located at the existing Darlington nuclear site in Ontario, Canada. The Darlington nuclear plant features four reactors using a different, indigenous design. In operation since the early 1990s, the plant currently provides about 20% of Ontario’s electricity needs.

 

The BWRX-300 SMR features an ‘innovative and simplified configuration, resulting in less concrete and steel needed for construction’, enabling it to be 10% of the size of a more traditional BWR, according to GVH. Like other civil nuclear reactors, the BMRX-300 can also provide hot water and steam that can be used for district heating, clean hydrogen and fuel production, reverse osmosis and direct air capture, it adds.

 

Each BWRX-300 will provide approximately 300 MW of electricity, ‘enough to produce the equivalent electricity needed to power 300,000 homes while significantly reducing the complexity and cost associated with traditional nuclear reactors’, reports GVH. The first of the four units at Darlington is slated to complete by the end of the decade.  

 

‘The experience and efficiencies gained from deploying the first BWRX-300 at Darlington alongside OPG and our other partners will pave the way for subsequent SMR projects by establishing a proven model for construction and operation,’ says Craig Ranson, President and CEO of GVH. ‘The standardised design and modular approach of the BWRX-300 enable economies of scale, making it easier and more cost-effective to replicate the construction process at other sites.’

 

Ontario’s supply chain is expected to ‘contribute significantly’ to the project, adds Lisa McBride, Canada Country Leader, GVH, ‘bringing substantial economic benefits to the province, including the creation of thousands of jobs during manufacturing, construction and operation’.

 

PWRs and BWRs are two of the most economical and common types of civil nuclear reactor. Both designs are light water reactors (LWR), which use ordinary water to cool and heat the nuclear fuel. The main difference between the PWR and BWR lies in the process of steam generation. A PWR generates steam indirectly in special steam generator vessels through water in a closed loop separated from the water loop in the reactor. A BWR produces steam directly using a single water circuit. While CANDU reactors, such as those currently operating at Darlington, employ pressurised water, that is so-called ‘heavy water’ – deuterium – which better moderates the nuclear reaction. They also use unenriched (natural) uranium fuel rods.  

 

 

Global SMR pipeline surges 42% as data centres drive demand

Meanwhile, a new report from Wood Mackenzie reports that as data centres and AI applications drive energy demand growth, interest in SMRs continues to rise.

 

‘The surge in data centre demand has propelled nuclear SMRs to a major player in the future energy mix,’ comments David Brown, Director, Energy Transition Research at Wood Mackenzie. ‘Nuclear SMRs remain a top priority for the Trump administration and with policy tailwinds, development should accelerate and expand to be a significant source of clean energy.’

 

According to the report, the SMR nuclear pipeline surged 42% since the last quarter of 2024 to reach 47 GW in 1Q2025. This equates to an increase of 14 GW.

 

The market analyst also reports that while data centres have expanded to a 39% share of the unrisked pipeline, the largest end-use segment continues to be power generation at a 51% share.

 

In total, the current pipeline of 47 GW would require an investment of around $360bn, it adds.

 

The US accounts for 53% of the unrisked pipeline, almost double the second-largest market, Poland. Key players in the market are Oklo, GE-Hitachi, and X-Energy, accounting for nearly 31 GW of SMR pipeline capacity globally.

 

Currently, there is 2.5 GW under construction or in development, with 1.2 GW of activity in Canada, according to the report.

 

Trade tariffs are expected to increase SMR costs, potentially raising them by about 6% by 2030. ‘Tariffs on steel and aluminium imports will raise construction costs for new reactors in the United States,’ says Brown. ‘We expect tariffs to impact costs as projects are built, with the strongest impact from 2028–2035.’

 

According to the report, elevated or permanent tariff levels are the largest risk facing the nuclear sector now. Wood Mackenzie expects the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) to increase if enriched uranium imports are subject to 145% tariff levels, for example. (However, those highest-level tariffs, imposed on goods between the US and China, were paused temporarily by the Trump administration in mid-May.)

 

‘While we understand US utilities have slowed uranium purchases in past six months, eventually the utilities will need to resume imports, and this could increase global spot and term prices for uranium supply,’ notes Brown.

 

Fig 1: Nuclear SMR unrisked pipeline, including operational projects, in GW

Source: Wood Mackenzie, SMR nuclear market update: 1Q2025 

 

US critical energy project permit expedited to address national energy emergency

With this mind, the US Department of the Interior (DoI) is expediting the permitting review of a major energy project – the Velvet-Wood mine in Utah – under its newly established emergency procedures. As part of a strategic response to the national energy emergency declared by President Donald Trump in January, the project will undergo an accelerated environmental review by the Bureau of Land Management, with a completion timeline of 14 days.  

 

If approved, the Velvet-Wood mine project in San Juan County would produce uranium and vanadium by accessing the old Velvet Mine workings and developing the Velvet-Wood mineralisation. Anfield also owns the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in Utah, which the company intends to restart. That mill would convert uranium ore into uranium concentrate.

 

Commercial uses of uranium include fuel for civilian nuclear reactors, as well as various uses in medical applications. Uranium is also used for fuel in US Navy submarines, and in the production of tritium, which is required for nuclear weapons.  

 

The US relies heavily on foreign imports to meet its demand for both uranium and vanadium. Under the Biden administration in 2023, US nuclear generators relied on imported uranium concentrate for 99% of their fuel needs, including from sources in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  

 

Vanadium has important uses, including as a strengthening agent in steel production. It is also used in titanium aerospace alloys in both commercial and military aircraft. In 2024, the US relied on foreign imports for nearly half of its domestic consumption of vanadium. China, Russia, South Africa and Brazil produced nearly 100% of the world’s mined vanadium