SMR developers engage with US regulators

Monday, 24 March 2025

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) policy on regulating advanced nuclear reactors encourages would-be applicants to engage with its staff "early and often" in the design process to help minimise complexity and add stability and predictability in the licensing and regulation process.

California-based Oklo is engaging with the regulator through a Pre-Application Readiness Assessment for the combined license application (COLA) it intends to submit later this year. The readiness assessment allows NRC staff to review and familiarise themselves with Oklo’s licensing materials ahead of the full application so that both sides can prepare for an efficient review, the company said.

The Readiness Assessment will begin later this month, and will address the content of the first phase of Oklo’s COLA submission, which will include information on the siting and environmental portions of the application. Oklo plans to submit a formal COLA later this year, with plans for follow on-applications for an order pipeline of 14 GW.

The Aurora powerhouse is a fast neutron reactor that uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core, capable of producing electricity - up to 50 MWe - or heat. Oklo received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy in 2019 to build and operate a prototype reactor at Idaho National Laboratory and is working towards site characterisation for the first-of-a-kind plant. It has been engaged with the NRC since 2016, aiming to establish a clear regulatory pathway for its advanced nuclear technology.

"We continue making progress towards obtaining commercial licenses for next-generation nuclear technologies," Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said.

Design certification

Deep Atomic formally notified the NRC in a letter dated 20 March of its intent to begin the Pre-Application Process for the Design Certification of its MK60 SMR. The MK60 SMR uses pressurised light water reactor technology, and is designed to produce 60 MW of electricity and 60 MW of cooling. It is specifically intended to cater for data centres, and the Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered company says its target date for the project (series manufacturing) is the fourth quarter of 2029.

"We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the NRC to ensure a transparent, efficient, and thorough review process throughout all stages of the licensing process," Deep Atomic CEO William Theron said in the letter to the NRC.

Deep Atomic initiated the consultation with the NRC in October last year. It aims to submit its regulatory engagement plan in July and the design certification application by the fourth quarter of 2027. It told the NRC that it also intends to submit an application for an Early Site Permit - which certifies that a site is suitable for the construction of a nuclear power plant from the point of view of site safety, environmental impact and emergency planning - by the fourth quarter of 2027, without naming a proposed site.

Deep Atomic recently issued a white paper on its vision for co-location of SMRs at data centres to provide a fully integrated, optimised power and cooling generation solution. This deep system integration goes beyond traditional co-location models, the company says, viewing the data centre and the SMR as parts of one integrated system rather than two separate entities. Integrating power generation and data centre operations in this way is set to transform the way data centres approach energy resilience and scalability, the company said.

NRC pre-application activities mainly occur through three processes: white papers/technical reports, topical reports, and readiness assessments. White papers are documents requesting NRC feedback on technical, programmatic, regulatory, or administrative topics that may involve challenging issues, describe new/novel approaches, involve policy issues that require Commission involvement, or are technical areas that applicant/vendors have little experience.