Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) introduced the Small Modular Reactor Commercialization Act of 2025 (SMRCA) to secure the United States’ preeminent position in commercializing and industrializing grid-scale small modular reactor (SMR) technology.
“We want the United States to be the nuclear energy manufacturing powerhouse of the world,” said Congressman Baird. “To get there, we must ensure the U.S. is uniquely poised to attract top SMR companies and get them to build their factories here. Last year, Congress passed the ADVANCE Act to support the initial deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. This legislation builds on the ADVANCE Act to tackle the next question of how our nation can compete on truly commercializing and manufacturing this technology at-scale.”
“I’m proud to co-lead this bill with Congressman Baird to make America the global leader in advanced nuclear manufacturing,”
said Congressman Harrigan. “Small modular reactors are the future of clean, reliable power, and the country that builds them at scale will set the rules. This legislation ensures that country is the United States.”
The
Small Modular Reactor Commercialization Act of 2025 addresses the U.S. SMR industrialization competitiveness through:
- Creating an SMR Industrialization Competitiveness Working Group: This bill directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a long-term working group responsible for positioning the United States to compete for long-term SMR industrialization, beyond first-of-a-kind demonstrator production volumes.
- Modernizing SMR Electrical Output Thresholds, Reducing Cost-of-Electricity: This bill brings the definition of a Small Modular Reactor up to modern technology standards, in alignment with the ADVANCE Act. The new definition increases the electrical output threshold for “Small Modular Reactors” from 300MWe (enacted in 2005) to 500MWe. By increasing this figure, domestic (U.S.) industrialization and accelerated deployment of SMRs with higher electrical outputs become possible.
The 500MWe figure threshold encompasses all Small Modular Reactor designs currently undergoing pre-application or licensing activities with the NRC. The threshold also adheres to the definition of an Advanced Reactor set forth in the ADVANCE Act—whereby, it is below the lowest electrical output of a previous generation reactor in operation on December 27, 2020 (519 MWe).
Representatives Pat Harrigan (NC-10) and Claudia Tenney (NY-24) joined Congressman Jim Baird in the introduction of this legislation.
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