NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), an early-stage developer of small modular reactors, has emerged as an unconventional bet for investors seeking exposure to the nuclear energy revival.
The company’s shares have collapsed more than 90% from an all-time high of around $57, leaving the stock trading below $6 per share amid a string of setbacks.
Among the factors driving the decline are broader weakness in nuclear energy stocks, early investor Fluor exiting its stake, and an absence of firm commercial commitments for NuScale’s reactor technology.
The stock had surged previously as hyperscale data center operators accelerated their search for dependable, carbon-free electricity and the Department of Energy moved to support the nuclear sector.
The U.S. government has set an aggressive target of quadrupling nuclear energy capacity by 2050, accelerating development of both microreactor and small modular reactor technology alongside traditional plant construction.
NuScale currently has one active project in Romania, but analysts and investors widely agree the company needs a deeper pipeline to establish real commercial traction.
The most closely watched potential catalyst is a large-scale deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which could fundamentally reshape NuScale’s long-term outlook.
NuScale is working with ENTRA1 to develop power plants, and on September 2, 2025, ENTRA1 signed a non-binding agreement with the TVA for up to 6 gigawatts of power across its service region.
The proposed project would be the largest SMR deployment in the United States, requiring up to 72 NuScale Power Modules and representing a transformational opportunity for the company.
CEO John Hopkins told investors during the August 5 earnings call that the company is “extremely encouraged by our conversations that ENTRA1 and TVA are having” and that “TVA is actively engaged.”
NuScale is pushing to convert that engagement into firm power purchase agreements, which the company views as a potential blueprint for future domestic deals and a catalyst to get U.S. plant development underway.
Without a binding commitment from TVA, the stock remains a high-risk, story-driven investment with meaningful downside still possible despite its already steep losses.
Investors weighing a position in NuScale must balance the transformational upside a TVA deal could deliver against the very real possibility that no firm commitment materializes in the near term.
