US Leads Global SMR Drive, Canada and UK in Pursuit

The United States dominates the global race to develop small modular reactors (SMRs), with 28 siting announcements in 2026—more than the next four countries combined (Canada 9, the United Kingdom 7, Russia 5, and China 4). The Nuclear Energy Agency tracks 129 SMR designs, but only 78 are publicly reported in its dashboard. SMRs, up to 300 MWe and manufactured modularly, promise cheaper, flexible clean power suitable for remote sites or data centers and are increasingly seen as important for grid reliability and energy security as power demand grows.