SMR Curiosity Grows, however Challenge Complexity Weighs on Offers

The July enactment of the Superior Nuclear for Clear Power, or ADVANCE, Act and the US Division of Power’s June announcement of as much as $900 million in funding for early small modular reactor (SMR) deployments are optimistic developments for NuScale’s enterprise, CEO John Hopkins mentioned on the corporate’s earnings name.

These developments got here amid elevated curiosity from hyperscale knowledge middle operators and producers in search of dependable, emissions-free electrical energy, Hopkins mentioned.

However undertaking complexity and danger aversion amongst potential off-takers have dogged NuScale’s efforts to shut revenue-generating buyer agreements, Hopkins mentioned in the course of the name’s Q&A session.

Actions taken by NuScale to scale back working prices and enhance effectivity, together with an approximate 28% discount in its workforce earlier this yr, helped the corporate trim working losses in Q2 2024, the corporate mentioned Thursday (August 8).

NuScale reported an working lack of $41.9 million within the quarter ended June 30, down from an working lack of $56.1 million in Q2 2023.

The speedy development of knowledge facilities in help of synthetic intelligence is the “most fun supply of latest demand” for clear, agency electrical energy, Hopkins mentioned on the decision. 

Within the investor presentation accompanying its earnings launch, NuScale cited a Might projection by the Electrical Energy Analysis Institute that knowledge facilities might account for as much as 9.1% of US electrical energy demand by 2030 from an estimated 4% right now.

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