Endeavour’s 2025 Nuclear Play: How SMRs Are Powering the Future of AI Data Centers

Industry Adoption: Endeavour’s Strategic Leap from Observer to SMR First-Mover

Between 2021 and 2024, the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) market was a domain of established nuclear giants and national governments. The industry saw significant momentum, with the global project pipeline growing 65% to reach 22 GW. Key players like NuScale Power achieved a landmark U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) design certification, while GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 was selected for Canada’s Darlington project. During this period, large energy consumers like Google and Amazon began exploring SMRs through power purchase agreements and initial partnerships, signaling a nascent demand from the tech industry. However, sustainable infrastructure developers like Endeavour Energy LLC remained on the sidelines, with no direct commercial or developmental activity in the nuclear sector. The prevailing adoption model was SMRs supplying power to the public grid.

The landscape shifted dramatically on January 7, 2025. This date marks an inflection point where the application of SMRs pivoted from a generalized grid solution to a targeted, industrial power source. Endeavour Energy LLC executed a landmark strategic partnership with SMR developer Deep Fission to co-develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity. This move was a direct response to the voracious energy demands of its Edged Data Centers, driven by the AI boom. The partnership introduces a revolutionary “nuclear-as-a-service” model, co-locating power generation directly with data centers to bypass an increasingly strained grid. This strategy’s rapid market validation came by October 2025, when Deep Fission announced it had signed Letters of Intent (LOIs) for a total of 12.5 GW of capacity with data centers and other large-load customers. Endeavour’s move has created a new competitive paradigm, transforming energy procurement from an operational cost into a strategic asset and forcing competitors to re-evaluate their reliance on traditional power infrastructure.

Table: Key SMR Market Investments Providing Context for Endeavour’s Strategy

Table: The Endeavour and Deep Fission SMR Partnership Ecosystem

Geography of Endeavour’s 2025 SMR Strategy

Between 2021 and 2024, SMR development was geographically anchored in regions with established nuclear expertise and government support. Projects were concentrated in predictable locations like Ontario, Canada (Darlington New Nuclear Project); the UK (Rolls-Royce SMR development); and France (EDF’s NUWARD program). The United States served as a key regulatory and R&D hub, with the NRC’s work and DOE funding programs. The geographic logic was to build where nuclear supply chains and workforces already existed, with the goal of feeding power into national grids.

The year 2025 shattered this model. Endeavour’s strategy untethered SMR deployment from traditional nuclear geographies and tied it directly to the location of its data centers. The announcement of the world’s first mile-deep nuclear reactor groundbreaking in Parsons, Kansas—a state not typically associated with new nuclear builds—is the clearest evidence of this shift. This demonstrates that the primary siting consideration is no longer proximity to a legacy nuclear hub, but proximity to a large, constant power demand and suitable geology for Deep Fission’s borehole technology. While the Endeavour-Deep Fission partnership is based in the US and aimed at a “global portfolio,” its first physical manifestation in Kansas signals a new risk and opportunity: nuclear development can now follow industrial and digital infrastructure growth into new territories, creating new regional energy economies.

Technology Maturity of Endeavour’s 2025 SMR Strategy

In the 2021–2024 period, the leading edge of SMR technology maturity was defined by the advancement of scaled-down Generation III+ light-water reactors. The major validation point was the NRC’s final design certification for NuScale Power’s VOYGR SMR in January 2023, marking it as commercially ready from a regulatory standpoint. Similarly, the selection of GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 for the Darlington project confirmed its status as a bankable, near-term technology. The focus was on de-risking proven, surface-based reactor concepts for commercial deployment within the decade. The technology was mature in design but lacked at-scale construction and operational history.

In 2025, Endeavour sidestepped this incremental path by embracing a disruptive, less mature technology: Deep Fission’s mile-deep borehole microreactors. This represents a strategic bet on a first-of-a-kind deployment model that promises enhanced safety, a minimal surface footprint (150 MW on a quarter-acre), and modular scalability (15 MW capsules). While the underlying reactor physics is established, the engineering and deployment method are novel. The technology’s maturity is poised for a critical test with an exceptionally aggressive timeline. The planned December 2025 groundbreaking in Kansas and the target for the first reactors to be operational by 2026 will serve as the most significant validation points to date. If successful, this will prove the commercial viability of a new class of SMRs and may accelerate market interest beyond conventional designs.

Table: SWOT Analysis of Endeavour’s SMR Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights: What Endeavour’s Nuclear Gambit Signals for 2026

The events of 2025 have set the stage for a series of critical inflection points over the next 12-18 months. The most immediate and significant signal to watch is the planned groundbreaking ceremony in Parsons, Kansas, scheduled for the week of December 4, 2025. This event will move the Endeavour-Deep Fission partnership from paper to physical reality, representing the first major test of their execution capability. Any delay would be a red flag, while proceeding on schedule would send a powerful signal of confidence to the market.

Looking ahead, all eyes will be on the incredibly ambitious goal of bringing the first reactors online in 2026. Achieving this timeline would validate Deep Fission’s technology and Endeavour’s strategic bet, likely triggering a new wave of investment and similar partnerships across the industry. Conversely, missing this target would highlight the execution risks of deploying novel nuclear technology. Market actors should also closely monitor the conversion of the broader 12.5 GW in LOIs into firm, binding contracts. This will be the ultimate measure of whether Endeavour’s first-mover advantage translates into a widespread industry trend or remains an isolated, high-risk venture. Finally, expect increased scrutiny and announcements from competitors as they race to formulate a response to Endeavour’s bold strategy to power the digital economy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Endeavour choose a novel SMR technology instead of a more established one?
Endeavour chose Deep Fission’s mile-deep borehole microreactors for several strategic advantages specific to its data centers. This technology offers a minimal surface footprint (150 MW on a quarter-acre), making it ideal for co-location. The underground design promises enhanced safety, and the modularity (15 MW capsules) allows for scalable power deployment. This approach directly addresses the power needs of data centers while bypassing grid constraints.

What is the ‘nuclear-as-a-service’ model and why is it significant?
The ‘nuclear-as-a-service’ model, pioneered by the Endeavour-Deep Fission partnership, involves co-locating dedicated SMRs directly with industrial customers like data centers. It’s significant because it allows large energy users to bypass an increasingly strained public grid, securing a private, reliable, and carbon-free baseload power source. This transforms energy from a variable operational cost into a predictable, strategic asset.

What are the biggest risks to Endeavour’s SMR strategy?
The greatest risk is execution and technology maturity. Endeavour’s entire strategy depends on the success of Deep Fission’s first-of-a-kind borehole SMRs, a commercially unproven technology. There are significant risks related to meeting the aggressive 2026 operational target and navigating the regulatory approvals for a novel reactor design. Any delays or failures in the initial Kansas project could jeopardize the entire initiative.

How is this new SMR strategy for data centers different from what was happening before 2025?
Before 2025, SMR development was led by governments and established nuclear players with the goal of supplying power to the public grid. Tech companies were passive customers, exploring options through power purchase agreements. The 2025 shift, led by Endeavour, changed the model to a targeted, industrial application. SMRs are now being co-developed and co-located directly with data centers, making the data center developer an active partner in power generation.

What are the key milestones to watch for to see if Endeavour’s strategy is successful?
The most critical short-term milestone is the planned groundbreaking in Parsons, Kansas, in December 2025; proceeding on schedule would be a strong positive signal. Looking to 2026, all eyes will be on whether the first reactors become operational on their highly ambitious timeline. Finally, market validation will be measured by the conversion of Deep Fission’s 12.5 GW in Letters of Intent (LOIs) into firm, binding contracts with other customers.