Inside the Nuclear Renaissance: Policy Shifts, Tech Demand, and the Rise of SMRs
In recent years, the world has seen a historic rise in energy demand — an acceleration of the “Age of Electrification”. This has been driven by a number of factors, including the global electrification of industry, transportation, and buildings; the rise of AI, data centers, and digital technology; and geopolitics and a nationalistic focus on reshoring manufacturing and establishing energy security.
Many of the presentations and discussions at Mintz’s recent 2025 Annual Energy Transition Summit highlighted how surging baseload demand is shaping North American and international investment in energy and how the US policy shift is changing the trajectory of renewable energy’s development. While we have certainly observed that rising demand (particularly for near-term solutions) has resulted in an “all of the above” approach to the North American energy mix — including oil, natural gas, renewables, nuclear, geothermal, and other emerging technologies — we believe that nuclear energy (delivered both by the development and refurbishment of utility-scale nuclear reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs)) is uniquely important part of the solution.
Key Drivers Behind Nuclear Energy’s Resurgence
At Mintz, we are excited to be helping our clients navigate the opportunities and challenges created by the rise of nuclear at this key moment in the energy transition.
Based on our observations of this nuclear renaissance, we wanted to discuss some of the most interesting drivers underpinning the industry’s momentum.
Industry Transformation
The nuclear industry is experiencing a structural shift — moving from a concentrated sector dominated by a small number of national champions and standardized reactor designs to a broad, dynamic landscape featuring over 100 SMR designs under development worldwide. According to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s 2025 SMR Dashboard, there are 127 distinct SMR technologies identified globally, with 74 actively advanced designs.
This is an unprecedented diversification of nuclear design concepts, spanning high‑temperature gas reactors, molten‑salt designs, micro‑reactors, advanced light‑water SMRs, and more. Many of these technologies are being advanced by new entrant companies — including early‑stage firms backed by venture capital, industrial coalitions, and strategic corporate partners. This means they are, in effect, startups competing in a field once closed to new players. While only a fraction of SMR concepts in development will reach commercial deployment, the landscape clearly shows that the sector has expanded from a legacy oligopoly into a competitive, innovation‑driven marketplace, reshaping what nuclear development looks like for the first time in decades.
Investment Tax Credits
Both the United States and Canada are providing strong, coordinated government support for the nuclear sector, with each country deploying tax credits to accelerate investment, extend the life of existing reactors, and enable new nuclear technologies such as SMRs.
While US policy trade winds have undercut the solar and wind portions of the renewable energy sector (for example, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) eliminated certain investment and production tax credits for solar and wind facilities, like the Section 45Y production tax credit and the Section 48E investment tax credit), the nuclear sector is benefiting from the current policies. For example, nuclear energy tax credits, like the Section 45U zero-emission nuclear power production credit, remain largely intact under the OBBBA, nuclear projects were exempted from the accelerated repeal schedule that applied to tech‑neutral credits (i.e., the 45Y PTC and 48E ITC), and the OBBBA restored full transferability for 45U tax credits (maintaining liquidity and financing flexibility), reversing an earlier proposal that would have disallowed transferability after 2027.
In Canada, the federal government has established a suite of Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits, including the Clean Technology ITC, Clean Electricity ITC, and Clean Technology Manufacturing ITC, all of which explicitly recognize nuclear energy (including SMRs and nuclear equipment manufacturing) as eligible clean‑energy investments deserving of refundable credits.
Additional Governmental Support
Beyond tax credits, the US and Canadian governments are increasingly supporting the nuclear sector through regulatory reform, direct public financing, and strategic national security initiatives.
In the United States, a series of federal executive orders issued in May 2025 were aimed at streamlining Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing, accelerating environmental reviews, expanding advanced reactor testing pathways, and prioritizing deployment of reactors for military bases and national security needs. These orders also directed multiple agencies to rebuild the nuclear fuel cycle, expand domestic uranium production, and bolster the nuclear workforce, collectively reducing permitting bottlenecks and reinforcing long‑term industry capacity. At the same time, federal financing tools such as the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), formerly known as the Loan Programs Office, continues to supply multi‑billion‑dollar loan guarantees that enable reactor restarts, SMR deployment, and supply‑chain expansion. For example, in February 2026, Southern Company’s subsidiaries, Georgia Power and Alabama Power, received a loan package of up to $26.5 billion from the EDF that includes ~6 GW of nuclear uprate and life‑extension work; and in November 2025, Constellation Energy received a $1 billion loan in connection with its restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1.
Canada is backing the next generation of nuclear development with significant direct financing and coordinated provincial planning, demonstrating a long‑term, nationally aligned strategy to scale nuclear power. The federal government, through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, has committed $970 million in low‑interest financing to Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for Phase 1 of the Darlington SMR project — the first SMR that will be completed in the G7. In parallel, the Province of Ontario is directly investing an additional $1 billion into this project. These investments dovetail with the inter‑provincial SMR deployment strategy jointly advanced by the Provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, under which the Darlington SMR project will spearhead follow‑on SMR developments across all three provinces — supported by shared planning, regulatory coordination, and a common commitment to nuclear energy.
Private Sector Investment
Private sector investment is playing an important role in advancing both SMRs and the refurbishment or restart of existing reactors. Major technology companies have been leading this charge. For example, Microsoft has committed to a 20‑year agreement to restart the Three Mile Island Unit 1 (now Crane Clean Energy Center), securing 835 MW of dedicated, carbon‑free nuclear power for its data centers, backed by a multi‑billion‑dollar PPA that enables the plant’s reopening and long‑term operation. Google, meanwhile, has signed a first‑of‑its‑kind agreement with Kairos Power to deploy up to 500 MW of SMRs by 2035, including a 50 MW Tennessee Valley Authority supported Hermes 2 reactor to directly power its data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.
Beyond tech, strategic partnerships between industrial operators and advanced reactor developers are emerging as powerful catalysts. For example, Dow Chemical is working with X‑energy to deploy four XE‑100 high‑temperature gas‑cooled reactors at its Gulf Coast and Texas operations, aiming to provide zero‑carbon process heat and electricity while replacing natural‑gas‑based systems and cutting emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons annually.
These investments are some of the most important accelerators for SMR commercialization and the revitalization of aging nuclear assets. For now, the early adopters of new nuclear energy are data center and technology companies, enticed by nuclear’s ability to generate reliable 24/7 carbon-free power. But if legacy heavy manufacturing sectors adopt nuclear energy as a pillar of its clean energy agenda, it could quickly outpace current growth trends.
International Partnerships
International partnerships are shaping the global SMR market as countries align industrial capabilities, capital, and regulatory expertise to accelerate deployment. The most sweeping example is the US and Japan’s $550 billion strategic investment agreement, under which Japan committed to channeling hundreds of billions of dollars into US energy infrastructure, including up to $100 billion for Westinghouse AP1000 and AP300 projects and another $100 billion for BWRX‑300 SMRs developed by GE-Hitachi. This framework also includes major commitments for engineering, grid infrastructure, and advanced nuclear supply‑chain development, making it one of the largest bilateral nuclear‑energy investment programs ever announced.
Canada is simultaneously emerging as a pivotal international partner through OPG, which is exporting its SMR operating expertise abroad. OPG has deepened collaboration with Poland’s Orlen Synthos Green Energy to support the development and eventual operation of a fleet of up to 24 BWRX‑300 reactors, leveraging the same GE-Hitachi technology being built at OPG’s Darlington site. Through this agreement, OPG will provide pre‑deployment services, operational planning, maintenance capabilities, and regulatory support — effectively launching Poland’s first commercial SMR program and demonstrating how early SMR leadership is giving Canada global influence.
Beyond these examples, numerous cross‑border alliances — from US cooperation with UK and Korean reactor developers, to multinational vendor–country partnerships supporting fuel supply, licensing convergence, and SMR technology standardization — highlight how the SMR market is becoming an international ecosystem rather than a series of isolated national programs.
Enhanced Construction and Development Tools
The industry has accepted the lessons learned from construction of Vogtle Units 3 and 4, including premature design work, immature supply chains, and unclear risk allocation, and is already reshaping how the next generation of nuclear plants, particularly SMRs, will be delivered. Industry leaders have emphasized that one of the core problems at Vogtle was initiating construction before designs were “shovel ready,” which contributed to cascading delays. As a result, developers are now adopting fully completed, standardized designs before breaking ground.
At the same time, studies of the AP1000 program show that many of Vogtle’s cost and schedule overruns stemmed from “first of a kind” challenges, and that these can be significantly reduced by modularization, repeat builds, improved supply‑chain development, and institutionalizing lessons across successive projects — all of which are key principles embedded in emerging SMR programs.
Meanwhile, advances in AI-driven design, construction management, and digital-twin technologies are giving SMR developers new tools to improve schedule certainty. US companies such as Palantir are building nuclear project operating systems that integrate supply-chain tracking, AI-powered document review, and predictive analytics, enabling reactor projects to be built faster, cheaper, and with fewer execution risks than legacy megaprojects like Vogtle. These digital platforms enhance design precision and automate critical project-management tasks, directly addressing factors that historically caused Vogtle-style overruns, including design changes, inspection bottlenecks, and misaligned contractor oversight. Collectively, these changes — combined with new contracting models with clearer risk allocation, standardized designs, modular construction, and AI-driven project execution tools — are setting up the next generation of nuclear builds, especially SMRs, to be delivered far more predictably in both cost and schedule than the Vogtle project that preceded them.
As a final point, project developers are also turning to novel contracting structures, such as Integrated Project Delivery models, which promote clearer risk allocation and deeper alignment among owners, designers, and constructors throughout the project lifecycle.
Structural Challenges That Could Limit Nuclear’s Growth
Putting aside the excitement surrounding the renewed momentum in nuclear energy, the industry faces a series of structural challenges that must be addressed. Even as governments and private investors push ahead with new‑build programs and the refurbishment of existing reactors, the sector must confront foundational issues that have historically constrained growth.
Among the most pressing are the need:
- to strengthen and expand the uranium supply chain, including secure access to raw uranium, conversion capacity, and reliable enrichment and recycling pathways (a challenge underscored by recent analyses showing that many SMR designs rely on advanced fuels such as HALEU, for which global supply remains limited and underdeveloped);
- for the industry to advance a credible, long‑term waste management strategy, including solutions for spent fuel disposition and repositories that meet regulatory, environmental, and community expectations;
- for the sector to address significant workforce constraint, as both SMR deployment and large‑reactor life‑extension projects require thousands of skilled workers across engineering, construction, operations, and regulatory fields— capacity that has been stretched thin after decades of limited new‑build activity;
- for governments to support its regulators and manufacturing sector. The build‑out of a globally competitive nuclear sector will depend on expanding manufacturing capability, standardizing designs, and supporting international supply chains, as highlighted by the OECD NEA’s findings that the diversity of emerging designs places increasing pressure on regulators and industrial capacity; and
- for the sector to find opportunities for traditional project‑finance lenders to participate meaningfully in new project development. While solar, wind, storage, and other renewable energy projects regularly attract non‑recourse private debt, nuclear remains reliant on sovereign‑backed capital, state lending agencies, and utility balance sheets. Private lenders remain cautious, as predictable construction costs, standardized designs, insurable risk profiles, and replicable delivery models — cornerstones of bankability — are still emerging. Developing a repeatable and investable project‑finance ecosystem will be essential for nuclear to scale globally.
Addressing these interconnected challenges, including fuel security, waste solutions, labor capacity, and bankable financing structures, will determine whether today’s nuclear resurgence becomes a durable pillar of the clean‑energy transition or another unrealized wave of ambition.
We will continue to closely monitor the areas outlined above, along with broader developments in the energy sector. We welcome the opportunity to connect. Please feel free to reach out to me ([email protected]) or members of our Sustainable Energy and Infrastructure team with any questions or to explore potential opportunities.
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