Over the past three months, shares of NuScale Power have declined by 54.4%, reflecting growing investor unease over the company’s ability to execute on its advanced small modular reactor (SMR) rollout. Analysts cite long project timelines—site licensing, construction and commissioning can span up to a decade—as well as a valuation that reached over 20 times forward revenue estimates at its peak. With no commercial reactor yet sold, investors are weighing the risk that regulatory approvals and supply‐chain constraints could further stretch deployment schedules and erode margins.

In collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NuScale completed a two‐year techno‐economic assessment (TEA) evaluating the coupling of its 77 MWe/250 MWt NuScale Power Module (NPM) with a U.S. chemical facility. The study found that a 12-module configuration could meet process steam demands of 1.3 million kg/h at 400 °C and 4.1 MPa while delivering 73 MW of electric power, allowing excess output to be sold to the grid. A minimum of four modules paired with natural gas boilers was sufficient to satisfy steam and power requirements, and eight modules provided N-2 redundancy for ultra-high reliability. Improvements in capital costs, staffing levels and a 10-day refueling outage contributed to capacity factors above 95% in the model.

Despite its NRC certification, NuScale has yet to secure a binding order for its SMR technology, keeping its first commercial sale critical for de-risking the business. The company is engaged with a Romanian utility considering up to six modules, with a final investment decision deferred to late 2026 or early 2027. Domestically, the Tennessee Valley Authority and ENTRA1 Energy have expressed interest in SMR deployments but have released few details. To date, NuScale’s revenue has primarily come from test‐and‐evaluation contracts, equipment design services and grants under the U.S. Department of Energy’s GAIN initiative.

Engineering firm Fluor, an early strategic partner and equity backer, holds approximately 6% of NuScale’s outstanding shares and plans a complete exit by year-end 2026. Fluor began secondary share sales when NuScale’s valuation neared its 52-week high, and continued disposals have contributed to elevated trading volumes—averaging over 50 million shares daily—and heightened volatility. Until Fluor’s stake is fully liquidated, this overhang could suppress valuation multiples, even should NuScale announce its first reactor contract or hit key regulatory milestones.