U.S. awards $800 million to TVA and Holtec for early SMR projects in Tennessee and Michigan

The Department of Energy selected the Tennessee Valley Authority and Holtec Government Services in December 2025 to support early deployments of advanced light-water small modular reactors, with the teams expected to receive a combined total of $800 million in federal funding for initial projects in Tennessee and Michigan. U.S. nuclear power.

He aims to expand American nuclear energy capacity from around 100 GW today to 400 GW by 2050. SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, equivalent to around one-third of the generating capacity of a conventional nuclear reactor.

Their smaller size allows installation on sites not suitable for larger reactors and enables incremental construction to match growing demand.

China and Russia remain the only countries with commercially operating grid-connected SMRs. Russia’s floating Akademik Lomonosov plant produces electricity and heat, while China’s HTR-PM high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed reactor generates electricity. Japan operates a high-temperature engineering test reactor categorised as a research and test reactor.

The United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Russia are investing heavily in SMR development. Other countries pursuing SMR development include Canada, France, Japan, and South Korea.

U.S. Companies advancing SMR development. Regulatory hurdles, financing challenges, supply chain constraints, and dependence on HALEU fuel continue to slow commercial deployment worldwide. In the early 2020s, enthusiasm surrounded SMR development as a route to nuclear expansion.

Supply chain disruptions and technical difficulties have since raised questions about the pace of progress, though some companies continue to invest in the technology.