Small modular reactors (SMR) are advanced nuclear reactors with a generating capacity of up to roughly 300 MW(e) per unit, about one-third the capacity of a traditional nuclear power reactorCITE:E1.
Unlike conventional nuclear plants, which are built piece by piece on site, SMRs are designed around factory assembly: systems and components are manufactured in a factory and transported to the installation site as a complete unitCITE:E2. The safety approach for SMRs also relies more on passive systems and the reactor's inherent safety characteristics than on active engineered safeguardsCITE:E2.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is tracking more than 80 commercial SMR designs in development worldwide, but only two have reached commercial operationCITE:E7.
China's HTR-PM began commercial operation in December 2023, generating 200 MWeCITE:E7. Russia's floating Akademik Lomonosov plant has run two 35 MWe reactors since 2020CITE:E7. In the United States, NuScale's VOYGR design remains at the proposal stage: each NuScale Power Module is rated at 77 MWe, and a 12-module plant would generate up to 924 MWeCITE:E3.
Google and Amazon are each backing SMR developers to secure dedicated nuclear power for AI data centers, with fleet targets set for the 2030sCITE:E4CITE:E5.
Google signed an agreement with Kairos Power to deploy a US fleet of advanced nuclear power projects totaling 500 MW by 2035, with Google's first plant expected online by 2030 using Kairos's fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) designCITE:E4.
Amazon led a roughly $500 million Series C funding round in X-energy, and the two companies are collaborating to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new SMR power online across the US by 2039CITE:E5. X-energy's Xe-100 design generates 80 MWe per reactor unit, and the companies' first project — a four-unit plant with regional utility Energy Northwest — totals 320 MWCITE:E5.
| Design | Developer(s) | Unit capacity | Plant/fleet scale | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HTR-PM | China (state-led) | 200 MWe | Single unit | Commercial since Dec 2023 CITE:E7 |
| Akademik Lomonosov | Rosatom (Russia) | 35 MWe x 2 | 70 MWe floating plant | Operating since 2020 CITE:E7 |
| NuScale VOYGR | NuScale Power (US) | 77 MWe/module | Up to 924 MWe (12 modules) | Design/proposal stage CITE:E3 |
| Kairos KP-FHR | Kairos Power / Google (US) | Not disclosed | 500 MW fleet target by 2035 | First unit targeted 2030 CITE:E4 |
| Xe-100 | X-energy / Amazon (US) | 80 MWe/unit | 320 MW first project (4 units); >5 GW target by 2039 | Pre-construction CITE:E5 |
High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), the fuel several advanced SMR designs require, is not yet commercially available at scaleCITE:E6. The World Nuclear Association states that only Russia and China currently have the infrastructure to produce HALEU at scaleCITE:E6.
Google's and Amazon's fleet targets — 500 MW by 2035 and more than 5 GW by 2039 — rest on the KP-FHR and Xe-100 designs, neither of which has an operating reactor yetCITE:E4CITE:E5. The only SMRs in commercial operation anywhere today are China's HTR-PM and Russia's Akademik LomonosovCITE:E7. At the same time, the HALEU fuel infrastructure that several advanced designs depend on exists at scale only in Russia and ChinaCITE:E6 — the same two countries currently ahead in commercial SMR operation. The US-based fleets Google and Amazon are financing therefore depend on both first-of-a-kind reactor construction and a fuel supply chain that, per the evidence here, is not yet built domestically.
Small modular reactors (SMR) are advanced nuclear reactors with a generating capacity of up to roughly 300 MW(e) per unit, about one-third the capacity of a tra…
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is tracking more than 80 commercial SMR designs in development worldwide, but only two have reached commercial ope…
Google and Amazon are each backing SMR developers to secure dedicated nuclear power for AI data centers, with fleet targets set for the 2030sCITE:E4CITE:E5.
High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), the fuel several advanced SMR designs require, is not yet commercially available at scaleCITE:E6.
The gap between the 2030s fleet targets and today's SMR reality is the real story: only two designs are in commercial operation anywhere in the world, China's 200 MWe HTR-PM and Russia's twin 35 MWe Akademik Lomonosov units, and neither is the design either American buyer chose. Google's KP-FHR and Amazon's Xe-100 are both first-of-a-kind builds — the earliest unit isn't due online until 2030, and the fleet targets stretch to 2035 and 2039. Layer on the HALEU constraint, where scaled production infrastructure currently exists only in Russia and China, and these targets look less like fixed engineering deadlines and more like bets on parallel progress in reactor construction and fuel supply. The metric worth watching is whether Kairos Power's first unit actually reaches grid connection by 2030 as planned — that single data point will say more about the credibility of the 2035 and 2039 targets than any funding announcement.
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