Holtec has been selected as a recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tier 1 “First Mover Team Support” award under the U.S. Government’s Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Pathway to Deployment Program, the company said on Dec. 2.
The award is valued at $400 million.
Holtec plans to deploy two SMR-300 reactors at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station site in Covert, Michigan, demonstrating viability for additional orders both domestically and abroad, DOE said.
“Holtec is pursuing an innovative one-stop-shop approach to SMR deployment by fulfilling the roles of technology vendor, supply chain vendor, nuclear plant constructor in partnership with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, plant operator, and electricity merchant selling the power to near-by utilities and end-users,” DOE said.
In March 2025, DOE issued a $900 million solicitation to de-risk the deployment of Gen III+ SMRs and the remaining $100 million will be awarded later this year to support additional deployments and address key barriers in design, licensing, supply chain, and site readiness.
DOE, through its Loan Programs Office, in 2024 announced the closing of a loan guarantee of up to $1.52 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment program to Holtec Palisades to help finance the restoration and resumption of service of an 800-megawatt nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan.
U.S. Department of Energy Selects TVA to Advance Next-Gen Nuclear Energy
The Tennessee Valley Authority on Dec. 2 announced that its application had been selected for a $400 million grant from the DOE to accelerate the deployment of the nation’s first Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor at TVA’s Clinch River nuclear site in East Tennessee.
The DOE grant is part of TVA’s broader initiative to strengthen America’s domestic nuclear industry and will advance the SMR project, targeting commercial operation in the early 2030s, TVA noted.
