Small nuclear reactors could power the future — the challenge is building the first one in the U.S.
Nuclear plants could become smaller, simpler and easier to build in the future, potentially revolutionizing a power source that is increasingly viewed as critical to the transition away from fossil fuels.
New designs called small modular reactors, or SMR in shorthand, promise to speed deployment of new plants as demand for clean electricity is rising from artificial intelligence, manufacturing and electric vehicles.
At the same time, utilities across the country are retiring coal plants as part of the energy transition, raising worries about a looming electricity supply gap. Nuclear power is viewed as a potential solution because it is the most reliable power source available and does not emit carbon dioxide.
Building large plants is very costly and time-consuming. In Georgia, Southern Co. built the first new nuclear reactors in decades, but the project finished seven years behind schedule at a cost of more than $30 billion.
Small modular reactors, with a power capacity of 300 megawatts or less, are about a third the size of the average reactors in the current U.S. fleet. The goal is to build them in a process similar to an assembly line, with plants rolling out of factories in just a handful of pieces that are then put together at the site.
“They’re a smaller bite from a capital perspective,” Doug True, chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute, told CNBC. “They’re a perfect fit for things like replacing a retired coal plant, because the size of coal plants typically is more than that of the small modular reactor design space.”
The challenge is getting the first small modular reactor built in the U.S.
Only three SMRs are operational in the world, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency. Two are in China and Russia, the central geopolitical adversaries of the U.S. A test reactor is also operational in Japan.
Executives in the nuclear industry generally agree that small modular reactors won’t reach a commercial stage until the 2030s. An ambitious effort by NuScale to deploy SMRs at a site in Idaho was canceled last year, as the project’s price tag ballooned from $5 billion to $9 billion due to inflation and high interest rates.
Eric Carr, president of nuclear operations at Dominion Energy, said the biggest challenge to commercializing the technology right now is managing the costs of a first-of-a-kind project.
“Nobody exactly wants to be first, but somebody has to be,” Carr told CNBC. “Once it gets going, it’s going to be a great, reliable source of energy for the entire nation’s grid.”
Dominion Energy
Dominion is currently evaluating whether it makes sense to build a small modular reactor at its North Anna nuclear station in Louisa County, Virginia, northwest of Richmond. The utility’s service area includes the largest data center market in the world in Loudoun County, less than 100 miles north of the plant.
Electricity demand from these computer server warehouses is expected to surge because artificial intelligence consumes more energy. In the case of Dominion, the peak power demand from data centers is forecast to more than double to 6.4 gigawatts by 2030 and quadruple to 13.4 gigawatts in 2038.
Dominion asked SMR technology companies in July to submit proposals evaluating the feasibility of developing a small reactor at North Anna. Carr said interest in the proposal process has been high. The utility is currently working with vendors to make sure they understand Dominion’s needs and to figure out which technology might be suitable, Carr said.
“For our specific case at Dominion, we have a duty to our shareholders to do the right thing, and we also have a duty to our customers to make sure we can meet the demand of this growth, but we have to balance both of those interests,” Carr said. Though Dominion has not committed to building an SMR yet, one planning scenario envisages developing six such reactors starting in 2034.
The tech companies driving the data center boom have also shown a growing interest in nuclear due to its reliability and role in fighting climate change. Carr said Dominion is having discussions with some customers on possibly collaborating to move SMRs closer to reality.
“We’re having some discussions with the technology vendors as well as the large customers that are coming in and saying, ‘What could this look like if we all work together,'” Carr said.
Holtec International
Holtec International, a privately held nuclear technology company, is trying to find a path forward for the industry on two fronts. The company is in the process of restarting the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, which would be the first time a plant that ceased operations has come back online.
Holtec also plans to install two small reactors at Palisades in the early 2030s, which would nearly double the power capacity of the plant. Kelly Trice, president of Holtec, said, without disclosing names, that at least six utilities are interested in participating in restarting Palisades and constructing the small reactors.
“If they participate, they can get all of those painful lessons learned without having to pay for them,” Trice told CNBC. “And then, when the plant is built at their site, it is the second one or the third one or the fourth — which usually becomes a lot less expensive once you’ve learned all your lessons.”
Once the first SMR has been constructed at Palisades, Holtec plans to build an order book to “continually manufacture the components to do this for whatever plant is needed,” Trice said.
Holtec’s SMR design is a pressurized water-reactor, the same technology as most plants currently operating in the U.S. fleet. “But with some elegant safety features that don’t require human action, and as a result of that simpler to operate, fewer people required, easier to maintain,” Trice said.
“And also reproducible. Our goal is for every SMR to essentially be the same,” he said.
Constellation Energy
The largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S., Constellation Energy, is also exploring the possibility of building a small reactor at one of its facilities.
The trend in the industry is to upgrade existing plants with small reactors in part because the communities are already open to nuclear. The necessary land, water, grid connection and security footprint are also already available, said Kathleen Barrón, chief strategy officer at Constellation.
Barrón said the idea is to work with a customer that is interested in contracting at one of Constellation’s existing plants for power today, and then working with them to use the facility to “host an SMR to provide greater clean power to that customer in the future.”
“This will only happen if there’s a supportive state policy akin to what states have done with offshore wind and there are customers that are interested in buying the offtake from those reactors,” Barrón said.
For now, the energy transition will require an all-above approach with natural gas acting as a bridge toward cleaner energy as coal phases out — until the next technology comes online, Dominion’s Carr said.
“SMR may very well be that next technology,” he said.
Lucid Motors (LCID) is calling out the competition after the 2026 Air remains the most efficient EV in the US according to new EPA rankings.
2026 Lucid Air remains most efficient EV in EPA rankings
It has been 9 years since Lucid introduced the +400-mile-range Air, its first luxury electric sedan. Since then, the California-based EV maker has come a long way, introducing its first electric SUV, the Gravity, and plans to launch a series of more affordable midsize vehicles, starting later next year.
Lucid’s former CEO, Peter Rawlinson, who was a top engineer at Tesla before joining the luxury EV startup in 2013, promised the company’s innovations would be “the key to unlocking greater efficiency,” and ultimately, more affordable vehicles.
Rawlinson was not kidding. The 2024 Lucid Air Pure was deemed the “world’s most efficient car” with a record 5 miles of range per kWh and a 146 MPGe rating, the highest rating ever given to an EV by the EPA.
Even with a slate of new EVs hitting the market, many claiming next-level efficiency, the Lucid Air is still ahead of the pack.
According to new EPA rankings, the 2026 Lucid Air Pure RWD (with 19″ wheels) remains the most efficient EV in the US with a 146 MPGe rating.
The Air beat out the 2026 Tesla Model Y Standard RWD (138 MPGe), 2026 Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD (137 MPGe), 2026 Toyota bZ (131 MPGe), and the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 Plus EV (126 MPGe).
Other automakers often tout EV range using lenient WLTP or CLTC test cycles, masking efficiency gaps and inflating expectations. Now that official U.S. EPA numbers are out, the story changes. Lucid Air delivers S-Class size with unmatched efficiency, going farther on less energy… pic.twitter.com/yqYHMgF4tm
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) November 25, 2025
Lucid’s communications boss, Nick Twork, shared the news on social media, saying the Air “delivers “S-Class size with unmatched efficiency.”
While many automakers tout EV range using more lenient WLTP or CLTC test cycles, Twork said Lucid’s advantage “comes from a holistic engineering approach” that was designed years ago and “still ahead of any passenger car sold today.”
Electrek’s Take
By developing electric vehicle components from the ground up, including the powertrain, battery systems, and software, Lucid has an advantage over many legacy automakers that rely on third parties to outsource.
For one, Lucid’s innovations are already driving down costs. The first Lucid Air Dream Edition, launched in 2021, started at $169,000. Today, you can snag the Lucid Air for as low as $70,900.
Lucid is now ramping production of its first electric SUV, the Gravity. Last month, it launched the lower-priced Gravity Touring trim, starting at $79,900.
Starting later next year, Lucid will begin production of its midsize platform, which will spawn at least three “top hats” priced around $50,000. The first will be a midsize crossover SUV, followed by a more rugged SUV that will share design clues from the Gravity X concept. Although it’s yet to be confirmed, the third is expected to be a midsize sedan that could go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3.
Rawlinson previously said Lucid’s midsize vehicles are aimed “right in the heart of Tesla Model 3, Model Y territory.”
After reporting Q3 earnings last month, Lucid said it had enough liquidity to fund it through the first half of 2027 and confirmed it’s on track to begin production of the midsize platform in late 2026.
Ready to test Lucid’s luxury EVs for yourself? Lucid is running a Cyber Monday Special, offering $2,000 toward an Air or $3,000 toward a Gravity. Check out the links below to find Lucid Air and Gravity models in your area.
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Hyundai Motor and Kia are racing past US rivals, scoring their largest market-share jump since the pandemic. The Korean auto giants’ market share reached a record 10.9% in October.
Hyundai and Kia capture record US market share
Hyundai and Kia’s big bet on the US is paying off. Despite the new tariffs on imported vehicles and loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, the Korean automaker is outpacing the competition.
Thanks to strong demand for electrified vehicles, especially SUVs, Hyundai and Kia captured a record 10.9% share of the US market in October.
Hyundai Motor, including Genesis and Kia, saw its combined US market share rise 3.4% from 7.5% in 2019. According to The Korean Economic Daily, this was the largest gain among major OEMs, including the “Big 3” GM, Ford, and Stellantis.
The growth is primarily due to its expanding lineup of hybrid SUVs, including the Tucson, Sorento, Telluride, Santa Fe, and Palisade.
Since 2020, Hyundai and Kia’s US hybrid market share has surged from just 5% to 14% this year. Through October, the Korean automaker sold 257,340 hybrids, already topping the roughly 222,500 it handed over in 2024.
Although hybrid sales surged, Hyundai and Kia’s EV sales dropped in October following the loss of the $7,500 federal tax credit.
Hyundai sold just 1,642 IONIQ 5s last month, a 63% decrease from October 2024 and significantly fewer than the over 8,400 sold in September.
Kia didn’t fare much better with just 666 EV9s and 508 EV6s sold in October, a stark contrast from the 1,941 and 1,732 sold in October 2024.
The policy changes caused Kia to delay the launch of several new EVs, including the EV4, its first electric sedan, and the high-performance EV9.
Hyundai Motors North America CEO, Randy Parker, said the policy changes have “temporarily disrupted the market,” but the company is confident it will reset over the next few months.
After the US and South Korea agreed to lower tariffs from 25% to 15% last month, Hyundai and Kia are now on par with Japanese automakers, including Toyota. Japan reached a similar deal with the US in September.
With local production picking up at Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant America and Kia’s West Point plant in Georgia, the Korean automakers expect to carry the momentum into 2026.
Hyundai and Kia have been pushing some of the strongest promotions to make up for the loss of the federal tax credit. Kia introduced a $10,000 customer cash discount across its entire EV lineup last month. Meanwhile, Hyundai is still offering IONIQ 5 leases as low as $189 per month, which is about as low a payment you’ll find for an all-electric vehicle.
Interested in testing one for yourself? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles near you.
Electric Vehicles:
Hybrid vehicles:
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If you ask the average American which country is doing the most to improve e-bike battery safety, most people probably wouldn’t guess China. But that’s exactly where the world’s strongest, most comprehensive lithium-ion safety rules are coming from – and the latest round just went into effect today.
Beginning December 1, China has officially banned the sale of all e-bikes built to the older national standard, replacing them with a new, far stricter rule set known as GB 17761-2024. Under the announcement from the State Administration for Market Regulation, any e-bike sold in China from today forward must carry a valid CCC certification under this brand-new standard. Older certificates are now invalid, and retailers caught selling non-compliant bikes face enforcement from local regulators.
The new rules go far beyond what most countries require. They tighten fire-resistance requirements, restrict the amount of plastic allowed on an e-bike, cap total vehicle weight, and mandate improved electrical safety. The regulations also work hand-in-hand with a second standard, the already-implemented GB 43854-2024, which sets some of the toughest lithium-ion battery testing requirements in the world, including mandatory over-charge protection, thermal abuse tests, puncture tests, and a ban on repurposed or second-hand cells, a major cause of past fires.
Balancing safety and convenience for existing owners, Chinese regulators also built in consumer protections. Bikes that were already purchased and registered under the old rules won’t be forced off the road. And companies are required to support repairs and spare parts for at least the next five years. But unregistered “old-standard” bikes must have been formally plated already, or they’ll no longer be legal to operate.
For a country often stereotyped as producing unsafe batteries, the reality is almost the opposite. China is now setting the global pace on e-bike safety – aggressively tightening standards, sharply reducing fire risks, and pushing manufacturers to meet levels of testing that most of Europe and the US still haven’t matched.
via: ITHOME
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