The US Small Modular Reactor (SMR) effort is at a critical juncture. SMRs offer a new approach to a familiar energy technology, one with significant environmental, energy security, and international strategic advantages. Despite industry support and a successful start to government licensing programs, a number of interrelated economic challenges remain. Widespread deployment of US-built SMRs to meet the anticipated domestic and global marketplace demand of the mid-2020s is therefore in jeopardy unless decisive action is taken now. A more proactive national strategy, starting with an integrated government and industry roadmap for SMR deployment, could make a difference and attract utility investment.
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