Top 10 Advanced Reactor Projects: TVA’s 6 GW Deal, AWS Signs 960 MW PPA & Key Utility Contracts (2024-2025)

The exponential power demand from artificial intelligence is pulling advanced nuclear projects from decades of development into commercial reality. Hyperscalers like Amazon and Google have become anchor offtakers, signing large-scale power purchase agreements that de-risk first-of-a-kind reactor deployments and establish a new market dynamic. Key commercial activity in 2024 and 2025 validates this trend, led by the Tennessee Valley Authority’s landmark agreement to develop up to 6, 000 MW of small modular reactor (SMR) capacity and Talen Energy’s deal to supply 960 MW directly to an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center campus. This corporate demand is a direct response to staggering load growth forecasts, with grid operator PJM anticipating 30 GW of new demand from data centers alone. The dominant theme for 2025 is the strategic co-location of reactors and data centers, creating a “behind-the-meter” model to secure the 24/7 carbon-free power required by AI infrastructure.

1. TVA Small Modular Reactor Initiative

Company: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), ENTRA 1 Energy, Nu Scale Power
Capacity: 6, 000 MW
Application: Utility Grid Supply
Source: Tennessee Valley Authority signs agreement for 6 GW of small nuclear

2. Palisades SMR Deployment

Company: Holtec International
Capacity: 600 MW
Application: Utility Grid Supply
Source: DOE taps TVA, Holtec for $800 M in early SMR deployment funding

3. Talen Energy – Cumulus Data Center PPA

Company: Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Capacity: 960 MW
Application: Data Center Power
Source: Nuclear Project PPAs

4. Kairos Power & Google Offtake Agreement

Company: Kairos Power, Google (Alphabet)
Capacity: 500 MW
Application: Corporate Offtake / Data Center Power
Source: These nuclear companies lead the race to build small reactors in U.S.

5. Natrium Demonstration Project

Company: Terra Power, Pacifi Corp, GE Vernova Hitachi
Capacity: 345 MW
Application: Utility Grid Supply
Source: The Natrium® Project Receives First NRC-Issued Environmental …

6. Long Mott Generating Station

Company: X-energy, Dow Inc.
Capacity: 320 MW
Application: Industrial Power
Source: Dow and X-energy Advance Landmark Nuclear Project in Texas …

7. Aalo-X Experimental Power Plant

Company: Aalo Atomics Inc.
Capacity: Not Specified
Application: AI Data Center Power
Source: Aalo-X

8. Amazon & X-energy SMR Deployment Collaboration

Company: Amazon, X-energy
Capacity: 5, 000 MW (Goal)
Application: Data Center / Corporate Operations
Source: What’s really going on with data centers and nuclear? – Hogan Lovells

9. Equinix & Oklo Power Agreement

Company: Equinix, Oklo Inc.
Capacity: Not Specified
Application: Data Center Power
Source: Equinix Collaborates with Leading Alternative Energy Providers to …

10. Hermes 2 Test Reactor

Company: Kairos Power
Capacity: 70 MW (Thermal)
Application: Technology Demonstration
Source: NRC Approves Construction of First Electricity-Producing Gen IV …

Table: Top Advanced Nuclear Projects & Initiatives (2024-2025)

Data Center PPAs, Tech Giants Drive Advanced Reactor Adoption

The market has clearly bifurcated into distinct adoption pathways, all pointing toward commercial viability. The primary driver is direct offtake by tech hyperscalers to power massive data center campuses. The Talen Energy contract with AWS for 960 MW is a landmark “behind-the-meter” agreement, directly linking a nuclear asset to a specific customer load. Similarly, Google‘s 500 MW offtake contract with Kairos Power and Amazon‘s collaboration with X-energy to deploy over 5 GW show a strategic shift where tech firms act as anchor tenants, providing the bankability needed for these capital-intensive projects. A second pathway is industrial decarbonization, exemplified by X-energy and Dow‘s project to supply a chemical facility with high-temperature heat and power. Finally, large-scale utility programs, like the TVA‘s 6 GW SMR initiative, represent the traditional model of deploying nuclear for broad grid stability, now supercharged by the urgent need for baseload capacity.

USA Leads SMR Deployment, DOE Funding and State Support

The United States has cemented its position as the global epicenter for advanced nuclear development, a status driven by a combination of federal policy, private investment, and state-level support. The Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) has been a critical catalyst, providing billions in cost-share funding to de-risk first-mover projects like Terra Power‘s Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and X-energy‘s project in Texas. In December 2025, the DOE reinforced this strategy by selecting Holtec International for up to $800 million to deploy two SMRs at the Palisades site in Michigan. This federal backing, combined with a clear demand signal from the private sector and supportive regulatory actions in states like Wyoming and Tennessee, has created an attractive ecosystem for developers to site, license, and construct new reactors.

Venture Funding for Nuclear Tech Skyrockets

This section attributes US leadership in nuclear development to a combination of public and private investment. This chart quantifies the private investment trend, showing venture funding is projected to reach $5.0 billion in 2025.

(Source: LinkedIn)

Terra Power Breaks Ground, Signals Advanced Reactor Commercialization

Recent milestones reveal a diverse technology pipeline progressing from demonstration to commercial scale. Terra Power‘s Natrium project, a Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor, has a clear lead in physical progress, having broken ground on non-nuclear construction in June 2024. This provides a critical advantage in schedule and public perception. Following closely are High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs), with X-energy filing its Construction Permit Application in April 2025 for its Xe-100 design. Other technologies are also advancing; Kairos Power received a construction permit in November 2024 for its Hermes 2 test reactor, a Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor, marking the first non-water-cooled reactor approved for construction in the U.S. in over 50 years. The parallel advancement of different reactor types indicates a maturing industry where multiple designs are competing to meet specific market needs, from industrial heat to grid-scale electricity.

19-Month NRC Review, Terra Power Sets Expedited Licensing Pace

The primary strategic variable for 2026 is whether the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) can consistently replicate the expedited review timelines achieved for Terra Power‘s Natrium project across other advanced reactor applications. Success or failure in this area will determine the industry’s ability to build at the speed AI demands.

• If the NRC successfully issues a construction permit for the Natrium project on its accelerated schedule, watch for a new wave of Construction Permit Applications from other developers. This could be happening, as evidenced by X-energy filing its application for the Seadrift plant in April 2025, signaling confidence in the regulatory path.
• If Kairos Power‘s Hermes 2 test reactor proceeds on schedule after its November 2024 construction permit approval, watch for other non-water-cooled reactor designs to gain regulatory momentum. This could be happening, as it validates the NRC’s framework for entirely new technologies and reduces perceived risk for follow-on projects.
• If DOE funding for early deployment, like the $800 million for Holtec‘s Palisades project announced in December 2025, continues to target shovel-ready projects, watch for more utilities to announce plans at existing nuclear sites. This could be happening, as it provides a clear financial and logistical path to de-risking brownfield site development.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of the commercial race to power AI with advanced nuclear reactors. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Which advanced reactor companies like TerraPower, X-energy, and Holtec are gaining or losing ground in the race to power AI data centers?
• What is actually happening with the TVA’s 6,000 MW SMR initiative since the ENTRA 1 Energy agreement was signed?
• What is the outlook for advanced reactor deployment for the data center sector by 2030, beyond the initial projects?
• Which hyperscalers and utility operators, beyond AWS and TVA, are actively signing contracts for advanced nuclear power?

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

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