In 2023, more than 20 countries at the World Climate Action Summit of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) set the goal of tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Now, a new report from the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency describes the daunting challenges involved in trying to meet that goal.

According to Nuclear Energy Outlook: Global Installed Capacity to 2050 and Beyond, expanding nuclear energy capacity to meet the COP28 target will require substantial acceleration in the growth of the nuclear workforce, supply chains, and financing availability. The report outlines four possible scenarios for how nuclear capacity could evolve by and past 2050: a “low” scenario, a “current trends” scenario, an “ambitious” scenario, and a “transformative” scenario.

Synthos Green Energy, a development and investment company headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, has announced a proposal to deploy 14 GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 small modular reactors at three multiunit sites in the United Kingdom. SGE has established SGE SMR UK Limited as its dedicated vehicle for this U.K. project, which reportedly could see private capital investment of up to £35 billion (about $46 billion).

The International Atomic Energy Agency intends to launch a new initiative at the IAEA ministerial in Washington, D.C. on August 26–27. The objective of the initiative, called Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS), is to provide support for “the maritime industry’s exploration of small modular reactors (SMRs) to power civilian ships and to provide offshore energy.” The IAEA hopes that this initiative will help advance the maritime deployment of such reactors.

GE Vernova has formed a strategic collaboration with nuclear project financing and manufacturing firm Blue Energy to “advance the world’s first gas-plus-nuclear power plant.” The companies say that they intend to design and develop a power plant using GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 small modular reactors and GE Vernova gas turbines to meet electricity demands related to AI and advanced manufacturing. Subject to a final investment decision in 2027, the first plant is to be located at a Blue Energy site in Texas and will power a nearby data center campus.

Coinciding with the March 19 White House meeting between President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, the Department of Commerce announced three new energy deals as part of a Japan-U.S. Strategic Investment initiative. Two of the deals involve the construction of natural gas generation facilities. The third, with an estimated value of as much as $40 billion, involves the construction of GE Vernova Hitachi (GVH) BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama.

X-energy announced Thursday that it has signed a letter of intent with Talen Energy to assess the deployment of X-energy’s Xe-100 reactor in Pennsylvania and throughout the market area of the PJM Interconnection regional transmission organization. That area, where the companies intend to explore the deployment of at least three four-unit Xe-100 power plants, includes several states in the eastern United States, from New Jersey to Illinois.

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor has completed the second step of the generic design assessment (GDA) process in the United Kingdom. In this step, the U.K. Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales did not identify “any fundamental safety, security safeguard or environmental protection shortfalls with the design of the BWRX-300.” Step 1 was completed in December 2024.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week shared a portion of the construction permit application from the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a small modular reactor at the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

In anticipation of TVA’s filing, NRC staff scheduled two public meetings in Oak Ridge for today, to discuss the agency’s process for licensing nuclear power plants.

Gov. Katie Hobbs put the brakes on legislation that would have eliminated some of Arizona’s regulations and oversight of small modular reactors, technology that is largely under consideration by data centers and heavy industrial power users.

In a Q&A posted on TVA’s website last week about a “new nuclear heyday,” Bob Deacy shared his vision for the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.—and some news about next steps for the company’s small modular reactor plans.

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s senior vice president for the Clinch River project, Deacy described his vision for up to four SMRs built on plots smaller than a football field with state-of-the-art digital equipment and a newly trained workforce providing reliable 24/7 power to the grid.

Researchers at GE Hitachi Nuclear recently completed a successful test on potential new building blocks made of steel-concrete composite.

In February, the Community of Practice (CoP) webinar series, hosted by the American Nuclear Society Standards Board’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policies Committee (RP3C), celebrated its fifth anniversary. Like so many online events, these CoPs brought people together at a time when interacting with others became challenging in early 2020. Since the kickoff CoP, which highlighted the impact that systems engineering has on the design of NuScale’s small modular reactor, the last Friday of most months has featured a new speaker leading a discussion on the use of risk-informed, performance-based (RIPB) thinking in the nuclear industry. Providing a venue to convene for people within ANS and those who found their way online by another route, CoPs are an opportunity for the community to receive answers to their burning questions about the subject at hand. With 50–100 active online participants most months, the conversation is always lively, and knowledge flows freely.

The North Carolina Collaboratory, a research funding agency established by the North Carolina General Assembly to partner with academic institutions and government entities, has awarded a grant to North Carolina State University and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) for research into small modular reactors. The funded research project, “Academic Boiling Water–Small Modular Reactor (BW-SMR) Simulator for Research, Development, and Educational Purposes,” focuses on the development of a digital-based simulator for GEH’s BWRX-300, a Gen III+ light water SMR.

Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp has announced that the university could soon become a home to small modular reactors from four advanced nuclear companies: Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy, and Aalo Atomics.

The Canada-Poland Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement was signed this week by the prime ministers of the two countries, supporting plans for developing Poland’s first nuclear power plants to aid its transition away from coal.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state officials met in August with officials at the U.S. Army’s Fort Drum in upstate New York to discuss deployment of a small modular reactor to supply the installation’s energy needs. According to local CBS affiliate WWNY, two congresspersons have called on the secretary of the army to place an SMR at Fort Drum, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that an SMR would be “the optimal option” for the site’s energy purposes.

Tech giant Amazon announced Wednesday new partnerships with Dominion Energy and X-energy to develop and deploy 5 gigawatts of nuclear energy to power needs across the country over the next 15 years.

Engineering company Rolls-Royce is considering the sale of its small modular reactor subsidiary to inject new funding into the company’s overall business plans, the Sunday Telegraph first reported Aug. 3.

The company is looking to raise hundreds of millions, with a current valuation of £1.6 billion ($2 billion), as it sets its sights on being the first to deploy SMRs in the United Kingdom. Rolls-Royce recently cleared step two of the U.K.’s generic design assessment (GDA)—a competition launched in 2023 to bring SMRs on line in the 2030s.

The small modular reactor design from Rolls-Royce has cleared step two of the United Kingdom’s generic design assessment (GDA) and is moving to the third and final step.

The company announced its progress and lauded “Rolls-Royce SMR’s position ahead of any other SMR in Europe” in a July 30 press release. Rolls-Royce SMR touts its ability to deliver new nuclear power based on proven technology, providing a “factory-built” power station to provide enough energy for a million homes for a 60-year stretch.

Duke Energy Florida is considering long-term plans for new nuclear development on 5,000 acres it owns near Gainesville.

According to testimony filed in Duke’s three-year, $818 million rate hike request with the Florida Public Utilities Commission, “In the 2038–2048 timeframe, this would be an attractive site for [the] addition of a new zero-emitting load following resource . . . including the potential development of next generation nuclear [small modular reactor] technology.”