Source: Slashdot: Hardware
NuScale's demonstration reactor hitting criticality marks the first operational proof-of-concept for a technology that has consumed billions in development funding across multiple administrations without delivering grid power until now. The milestone matters because SMRs are positioned as a solution to decarbonization in remote locations and industrial heat applications where large nuclear plants aren't viable, but the capital costs and construction timelines remain unproven at commercial scale—and this single successful test doesn't resolve whether the economics will work outside government-subsidized projects. The question now is whether utilities and industrial customers will buy these units at competitive rates, or whether SMRs remain dependent on policy mandates rather than market demand.