Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
NuScale Power
The developer of the first small modular reactor (SMR) design certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, spun out of an Oregon State University research programme in 2007, rescued by the engineering contractor Fluor in 2011 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange through a SPAC in May 2022. NuScale holds the NRC's certification for a 50 MWe module (rule effective February 2023) and a standard design approval for an uprated 77 MWe module (May 2025). Its first customer project — the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project in Idaho, 6 × 77 MWe = 462 MWe — was cancelled on 8 Nov 2023 after its target price rose from ~$58/MWh to ~$89/MWh even after Inflation Reduction Act support (UAMPS/NuScale, reported), and subscriptions fell short. In September 2025 the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and ENTRA1 Energy, NuScale's exclusive commercial partner, announced a framework for up to 6 GW of NuScale-based plants; as of late October 2026 no power purchase agreement (PPA) had been signed (company, reported). NuScale is the book's clearest case of an approved design without a customer at its price.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2007 (Corvallis, Oregon), to commercialise the Multi-Application Small Light Water Reactor (MASLWR) concept developed at Oregon State University with Idaho National Laboratory (2000–03, DOE-funded)
- Headquarters
- Portland, Oregon (offices in Corvallis, Charlotte, Rockville and elsewhere, reported)
- Ownership / structure
- Public, NYSE: SMR (from 3 May 2022, after the merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp closed on 2 May 2022); Up-C structure with NuScale Power LLC beneath the listed company; Fluor, the controlling shareholder after 2011, sold its entire stake between 2025 and April 2026 for reported proceeds of ~$2.43bn
- Leadership (2026)
- John Hopkins (president and CEO since 2012); Jose Reyes (co-founder, chief technology officer emeritus, verify title); Ramsey Hamady (CFO, verify)
- Product
- NuScale Power Module: an integral pressurised-water reactor, natural circulation, ~77 MWe (uprated from 50 MWe), sitting in a common below-grade pool; plants marketed as VOYGR (VOYGR-4, -6, -12; the 12-module plant ~924 MWe) and, from 2025, sold by ENTRA1 as "ENTRA1 Energy Plants"
- Scale
- Pre-revenue on electricity; revenue from engineering services (FEED for Romania's RoPower, licensing work): ~$37m (2024, company, verify), ~$8.1m Q2 2025 and ~$0.1m Q2 2026 as FEED work ended (company, reported); cash and investments ~$1.9bn at 30 Jun 2026 (company)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding (2007); Fluor rescue (2011); NRC design certification (2017–23); SPAC listing (2022); Romania's RoPower/Doicești project (2021–26); UAMPS cancellation (2023); Standard Power deal and the Iceberg short report (2023); 77 MWe uprate approval (2025); ENTRA1–TVA framework and Fluor's exit (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2007
Founding and the Oregon State Design
Founding / technology bet
2011
Fluor Investment
Financing (strategic rescue investment) / change of control
2017
NRC Design Certification
Regulatory action (Part 52 design certification)
2021
Romania RoPower Doicesti Project
Export project / state support (government-to-government backed SMR project)
2022
SPAC Listing with Spring Valley
Spin-off or IPO (merger with a special-purpose acquisition company)
2023
Standard Power Deal and the Short Report
Offtake announcement / controversy (short-seller attack and litigation)
2023
UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project Cancellation
Offtake collapse / project cancellation (failure)
2025
77 MWe Uprate Standard Design Approval
Regulatory action (NRC standard design approval)
2025
ENTRA1 TVA 6 GW Framework
Offtake framework (collaborative agreement) / ownership change