SMRs: Framatome expands its partnership with NuScale to secure fuel supply

Framatome and NuScale Power are expanding their partnership to secure the global fuel supply chain for their SMRs, with a strategic opening towards Europe. The two companies are scaling up to meet project timelines and ensure the deployment of the reactor in the coming years.

Framatome and NuScale Power have been partners since 2015 to design, test and manufacture NuFUEL-HTP2 fuel assemblies intended for the NuScale Power Module (NPM). The NPM is a Generation III+ SMR (small modular reactor) based on light water reactor technology. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved in May 2025 the second version of the SMR, with a capacity of 77 MWe. On 10 March 2026, the two companies renewed their partnership in order to structure a global supply chain for NuScale’s customers and accelerate the deployment of the reactor.

The contract extension is structured in two phases. In a first phase, NuScale’s European customers will be able to benefit from the manufacturing of fuel assemblies designed in Framatome’s European facilities. Last February, the Romanian utility Nuclearelectrica already announced that it had taken a final investment decision for its small modular reactor project, using NuScale technology, at the Doicești site.

Industrial ramp-up in the United States

In a second phase, Framatome’s Richland plant (Washington State) has been designated to produce within five years the fuel that will supply the NuScale Power Modules (NPM) in the United States. This decision follows the approval granted by the U.S. nuclear safety authority (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission). “In addition to preparing the industrial ramp-up, this notification includes the production of at least 444 fuel assemblies for NuScale’s first U.S. customer as early as 2030,” NuScale Power specified.

Framatome will now be able to qualify its facility for the production and delivery of NuFUEL-HTP2 fuel, a derivative of the HTP fuel used in light water reactors. This fuel has already been widely deployed (more than 20,000 HTP fuel assemblies) in more than 11 countries for pressurised water reactors (PWRs). “Its design combines low pressure drop with high mechanical robustness and seismic resistance, ensuring reliable operation in this new type of reactor,” Framatome detailed in its statement.

This agreement highlights that the success of SMRs will not depend solely on technology, but also on the ability to industrialise a fuel supply chain — an aspect that remains largely underestimated. A Sfen study published in December 2025 had already warned of potential tensions in certain fuel supply chains. ■