Nuclear SMR Patents

Small modular reactor (SMR) patents cover reactor-design and integral-PWR innovations; advanced-coolant (sodium, molten-salt, gas) innovations; advanced-fuel (TRISO, HALEU) innovations; and passive-safety, modularity, and microreactor innovations — with IP held by light-water SMR developers, advanced-reactor companies, and microreactor startups. MAJOR NUCLEAR-SMR PATENT HOLDERS: NuSCALE POWER: a light-water integral pressurized-water-reactor SMR (~77 MWe NuScale Power Module, passively safe, factory-built) — the first SMR design to receive US NRC design certification. TERRAPOWER (Bill Gates-backed): Natrium — a sodium-cooled fast reactor paired with molten-salt thermal-energy storage (decoupling reactor output from grid demand), plus traveling-wave and molten-chloride fast-reactor work. X-ENERGY: the Xe-100, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor HTGR using TRISO pebble fuel (and the TRISO-X fuel fabrication). KAIROS POWER: the Hermes fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactor FHR (TRISO pebbles in molten-fluoride-salt coolant). OKLO: the Aurora microreactor (fast spectrum, heat-pipe/compact). OTHERS: Westinghouse (eVinci heat-pipe microreactor, AP300 SMR), GE Hitachi (BWRX-300 boiling-water SMR), Rolls-Royce SMR, Holtec (SMR-300), Last Energy, Terrestrial Energy (molten-salt IMSR), and Ultra Safe Nuclear. Integral reactor design, advanced coolants, TRISO fuel, and passive safety are the core SMR patent domains — and NRC/regulatory licensing is a parallel moat as important as IP.

Integral-reactor and primary-system innovations; passive-safety innovations; modularity and factory-fabrication innovations; and control and load-following innovations represent core SMR patent domains — and passive safety plus factory modularity are what differentiate SMRs from large reactors. INTEGRAL-REACTOR PATENTS: integral pressurized-water-reactor designs (placing the steam generator, pressurizer, and core in one vessel to eliminate large-break-loss-of-coolant piping — NuScale), compact primary loops, natural-circulation cooling (no pumps), and reactor-vessel/internals design. PASSIVE-SAFETY PATENTS: passive decay-heat removal (cooling the core by natural convection/conduction without AC power or operator action — the core SMR safety claim), passive containment cooling, and 'walk-away safe' designs that rely on physics not active systems; this is a central, valuable patent area because it underpins the SMR safety case and siting flexibility. MODULARITY / FABRICATION PATENTS: factory fabrication and shipping of complete modules (the cost thesis — moving from field construction to factory production), modular installation, and multi-module plant arrangements. CONTROL / LOAD-FOLLOWING PATENTS: load-following control, and pairing with thermal storage (TerraPower Natrium's molten-salt storage decouples reactor power from grid demand) or hydrogen/process heat. Passive safety and factory modularity are the highest-value light-water-SMR IP because they are the SMR value proposition (safety + cost).

Advanced-coolant innovations; advanced-fuel (TRISO, HALEU) innovations; high-temperature and process-heat innovations; and microreactor and heat-pipe innovations represent additional SMR patent domains — and advanced reactors (Gen IV) compete largely on coolant and fuel. COOLANT PATENTS: sodium fast reactors (liquid-sodium primary coolant, fast neutron spectrum, sodium handling/safety — TerraPower Natrium), molten-salt reactors (fluoride or chloride salts as coolant and/or fuel-bearing — Kairos FHR coolant, Terrestrial IMSR fuel-salt), high-temperature helium gas (X-energy HTGR), and lead/lead-bismuth — each coolant has distinct, patentable component, chemistry, and safety IP. TRISO-FUEL PATENTS: tristructural-isotropic TRISO coated-particle fuel (a uranium kernel in layers of carbon and silicon carbide that contain fission products to very high temperatures — the 'most robust nuclear fuel'), pebble vs. compact forms, fuel fabrication (X-energy TRISO-X), and HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium, 5–20%) fuel design and supply (a supply-chain constraint for many advanced reactors). HIGH-TEMPERATURE / PROCESS-HEAT PATENTS: using high outlet temperatures for industrial process heat and hydrogen production. MICROREACTOR PATENTS: very small (<20 MWe) transportable reactors, heat-pipe cooling (no coolant loop/pumps — Westinghouse eVinci, Oklo), and compact/autonomous designs for remote/defense/data-center power. TRISO fuel, advanced-coolant systems, and heat-pipe microreactors are the highest-value advanced-SMR IP.

Nuclear SMR startup IP strategy must navigate NuScale/GEH/Westinghouse light-water-SMR patents, TerraPower/X-energy/Kairos advanced-reactor estates, decades of national-lab and Gen-IV reactor prior art (much reactor physics is published government work — INL, Oak Ridge molten-salt heritage), the dominant role of NRC/regulatory licensing (a multi-year, hugely expensive process that is as decisive as IP), HALEU/fuel-supply constraints, and enormous capital intensity; understand that reactor physics is broadly prior art (the molten-salt reactor, sodium fast reactor, and HTGR all trace to 20th-century national-lab work), so the durable IP is in specific engineering — passive-safety systems, integral/compact designs, TRISO fuel fabrication, coolant-handling, heat-pipe microreactors, and modularity/manufacturing — and that NRC design certification and fuel supply are parallel moats; identify whitespace in passive safety, TRISO/HALEU fuel, advanced-coolant components, microreactors, and factory manufacturability. NUCLEAR-SMR STARTUP IP STRATEGY: REACTOR PHYSICS IS PRIOR ART — ENGINEERING, FUEL, AND PASSIVE SAFETY ARE THE IP: sodium/molten-salt/HTGR concepts are 20th-century national-lab work, so patent the specific passive-safety system, integral/compact design, coolant-handling, TRISO fuel fabrication, and modular manufacturing — not the reactor type; TRISO FUEL AND HALEU SUPPLY ARE HIGHEST-STRATEGIC-VALUE: robust TRISO fuel fabrication (X-energy TRISO-X) and HALEU fuel/supply are gating for most advanced reactors and valuable, contested IP; PASSIVE SAFETY AND FACTORY MODULARITY ARE THE SMR VALUE PROPOSITION: walk-away-safe passive cooling and factory-built modular construction are the patentable core of the SMR thesis (safety + cost); MICROREACTORS AND HEAT-PIPE COOLING ARE OPEN WHITESPACE: transportable <20 MWe reactors and heat-pipe (pumpless) cooling (eVinci, Oklo) for remote/data-center power are a newer, less-consolidated frontier; NRC LICENSING AND CAPITAL ARE PARALLEL MOATS: design certification (years, hundreds of millions) and fuel supply gate the market as much as patents — IP without a licensing and fuel plan is incomplete; WHEN TO PATENT: NOVEL SYSTEM/FUEL WITH MEASURED/DEMONSTRATED PERFORMANCE: file once a design shows measured/validated results (power MWe + outlet temperature + passive-safety margin + fuel performance/burnup + modular cost $/kW + capacity factor) vs. existing SMR baselines — measured power/temperature, passive-safety margin, fuel performance, and modular cost are the critical SMR IP metrics; KEY FTO CHECKLIST: NuScale integral PWR natural-circulation passive-safety 77MWe (NRC-certified); TerraPower Natrium sodium fast reactor + molten-salt storage; X-energy Xe-100 HTGR helium + TRISO-X pebble fuel; Kairos Hermes fluoride-salt FHR TRISO; Oklo Aurora fast microreactor; Westinghouse eVinci heat-pipe microreactor, AP300; GEH BWRX-300; Terrestrial IMSR molten-salt; TRISO coated-particle SiC fuel fabrication; HALEU 5-20% supply; passive decay-heat removal; factory modular fabrication; NRC design certification.