What Are Small Modular Reactors, and Why Is Canada Betting on Them?

Small Modular Reactors (SMR) are certainly not new. Are they safer and a better economically viable nuclear power? Canada could have been a global leader with an ambitious national strategy. But after 3 years, our flagship project sits paused indefinitely, while the world’s only operational grid-scale SMRs run in Russia and China. The gap between Canada’s nuclear ambitions and deployment reality reveals this next-gen tech’s challenges.

Go more in-depth into the SMR story with the full research article Small Modular Reactors in Canada: Current Status and Prospects by Denis Koshelev.

What are Small Modular Reactors?

Small Modular Reactors depart from traditional nuclear power plant design with unique advantages. 

• Small size: They’re physically much smaller than traditional plants.

  
  

• Modular design: They can be built in factories with better quality control and transported to sites for quicker assembly.

  
  

• Reactor type: Like traditional nuclear plants, they use fission to generate energy.

  
  

Why Is Canada Interested?

These theoretical advantages have attracted significant attention from Canadian policymakers, who see SMRs as key to the country’s clean energy transition. They offer the potential to:

• Help phase out fossil fuels.

  
  

• Deliver energy to remote or off-grid communities.

  
  

• Provide industrial heat for mining or manufacturing.

  
  

This level of flexibility is unmatched by most other clean energy sources.

Are They Safer?

One of the biggest selling points of SMRs is enhanced safety. The smaller size and power output lower the risk of large-scale accidents. Plus, their passive safety systems do not rely on human operators or external power to cool the reactor in an emergency.

For example, the MMR Energy System, developed by Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), uses:

• Fully ceramic micro-encapsulated (FCM) fuel that contains radioactive materials more securely.

  
  

• A strong negative temperature feedback loop naturally slows down the reaction if things start to overheat.

  
  

These safety innovations represent a big step forward, at least in theory.

Real-world testing and validation are still limited, so pilot projects are critical to proving SMRs can live up to the hype.

A Promising Vision — But Still Unproven

SMRs aren’t just about technical innovation. They represent a new approach to nuclear that is faster to build, safer to run, and potentially cheaper to operate. It’s a vision Canada has embraced, but the transition from ambition to action has been far from smooth.