NuScale Stock Drops 20% as SMR Developer Struggles to Find First Customer Despite NRC Approval

NuScale Power, the only U.S. company with NRC approval for a small modular reactor design, saw its stock fall 20% as investors weigh first-mover status against a lack of firm commercial sales. The company has two major projects in development, one in Romania and one with the Tennessee Valley Authority, but neither is expected to reach completion before 2030. NuScale reported a net loss of $355 million last year and has been funding operations through heavy stock dilution, with shares outstanding more than doubling in the past year. The article highlights the gap between regulatory milestones and commercial reality for advanced nuclear. While NuScale's SMR design is factory-built and scalable, the canceled Carbon Free Power Plant project still undermines cost credibility. Competing developers like Oklo and Nano Nuclear Energy are one to two years behind in NRC approval, but that lead means little without a paying customer. For anyone tracking nuclear as a decarbonization tool, the central question is whether regulatory advantage can translate into actual deployment.