The factors that drive the market growth include versatile nature of nuclear power and modularization of SMRs. SMRs offer the potential for improved economics. Their smaller scale and standardized designs can lead to cost savings in manufacturing, construction, and maintenance. The modular nature of SMRs enables phased deployment, reducing upfront capital costs and allowing for incremental capacity expansion based on demand.
According to a latest research,
The small modular reactor market is estimated to be USD 5.8 billion in 2023 to USD 6.8 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 2.3% during the forecast period.
Key Market Players
The small modular reactor market is dominated by a few globally established players such as Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (US), NuScale Power, LLC. (US), Terrestrial Energy Inc. (Canada), Moltex Energy (Canada), and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (US).
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The gases segment accounted for a share of 22.6% of the small modular reactor market in 2022. The gas-cooled reactor uses helium as a coolant medium during the operation and can be easily pressurized and maintain a stable high temperature facilitating higher efficiency in the operations. Using gas as a medium in the reactor can stop the occurrence of corrosion on the surfaces of the reactor, which reduces the need for maintenance. These operational advantages are pushing the growth of the gases segment. Gas-cooled reactors use graphite as a neutron moderator and carbon dioxide gas as the coolant.
The high-temperature reactor segment accounted for a 22.6% share of the small modular reactor market in 2022. High-temperature reactors are Generation IV technology reactors characterized using a graphite moderator and gases such as helium, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen as the primary coolants. The most developed HTRs are high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs), which include two main types of reactor designs: pebble-bed reactors (PBR) and prismatic block reactors (PMR). These reactors can reach temperatures of up to 1,000° C and may use fuels that contain uranium enriched up to 20.0%, which has higher enrichment than LWR fuel. These reactors provide immense potential use of thorium-based fuels. HTGRs produce ~40% less high-level waste per unit of energy produced and less plutonium content compared with a single-pass typical cycle of LWRs. The waste reduction is a result of higher thermal efficiencies and increased burnup in HTGRs. The storage and disposal requirement of high-temperature reactors is about 50 times lower for HTGRs compared with LWRs. However, the regulators and designers face several challenges while developing and licensing HTRs, such as limited design experience, lack of construction codes, and unresolved questions concerning fuel development and safety analysis tools.
The power generation segment held a 34.15% share of the small modular reactor market in 2022. SMRs are expected to be used for power generation, as they have simpler designs, economies of series production, short construction times, and reduced siting costs compared with large nuclear power plants. The power generated by SMRs is expected to be economical compared with other low-carbon alternatives and they help reduce carbon emissions and meet new energy demands. SMRs provide a stable and reliable baseload power supply, which makes them suitable for replacing and optimizing the use of retiring coal and other fossil fuel-fired power plants and replacing aging infrastructure. SMRs also have load following capabilities and can be integrated with renewable energies to provide flexible power, as these reactors can vary their output to meet the fluctuations in power produced using renewable energy. SMRs can be used to power isolated grid systems, remote communities, islands, and mining sites. All these factors are likely to boost the growth of the market for the power generation segment.
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Europe accounted for a 30.3% share of the global small modular reactor market in 2022. The scope of the European small modular reactor market includes Russia, the UK, France, and the Rest of Europe. The Rest of Europe includes Italy, Luxembourg, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Estonia, Poland, and Romania. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022, nuclear energy accounted for about 28.4% of the region’s electricity generation mix. The region accounted for 30.2% of the global nuclear power consumption.
