[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2813 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2813
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a working group on the
commercialization and industrialization of small modular reactors and
to modernize thresholds for electrical output of small modular
reactors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 2025
Mr. Baird (for himself, Ms. Tenney, and Mr. Harrigan) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a working group on the
commercialization and industrialization of small modular reactors and
to modernize thresholds for electrical output of small modular
reactors.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Small Modular
Reactor Commercialization Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Treatment of modular reactors with increased efficiency.
Sec. 3. Defined small modular reactor output range.
Sec. 4. Published guidance on small modular reactors.
Sec. 5. Financial assistance eligibility for efficient small modular
reactor development, demonstration, and
deployment.
Sec. 6. Small modular reactor commercialization and industrialization
competitiveness working group.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF MODULAR REACTORS WITH INCREASED EFFICIENCY.
Paragraph (5)(B) of section 170 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954
(42 U.S.C. 2210(b)(5)(B)) is amended by striking ``300,000 electrical
kilowatts, with a combined rated capacity of not more than 1,300,000
electrical kilowatts'' and inserting ``500,000 electrical kilowatts,
with a combined rated capacity of not more than 1,500,000 electrical
kilowatts''.
SEC. 3. DEFINED SMALL MODULAR REACTOR OUTPUT RANGE.
Section 40321(a)(5)(A) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act (42 U.S.C. 18751(a)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ``300'' and
inserting ``500''.
SEC. 4. PUBLISHED GUIDANCE ON SMALL MODULAR REACTORS.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Secretary of Energy shall
revise Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy guidance
relating to maximum electrical output of small modular reactors and
microreactors to align such guidance with the definitions of small
modular reactor and microreactor in section 7 of this Act.
SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY FOR EFFICIENT SMALL MODULAR
REACTOR DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, AND DEPLOYMENT.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary of Energy, in providing any funding assistance to support the
development, demonstration, or deployment of grid-scale small modular
reactors, shall not exclude from award eligibility projects or reactor
technologies on the basis that a single reactor unit output exceeds any
electrical megawatt threshold between 50 and 500 electrical megawatts.
(b) Treatment of Existing Programs.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary of Energy to
make awards within the explicit scope of Department of Energy
solicitations issued prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. SMALL MODULAR REACTOR COMMERCIALIZATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
COMPETITIVENESS WORKING GROUP.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish a working
group to be known as the ``Small Modular Reactor Commercialization and
Industrialization Competitiveness Working Group'' (in this section
referred to as the ``Working Group'').
(b) Duties.--The duties of the Working Group shall include the
following:
(1) To identify small modular reactor technologies the
design for which an application has been submitted or received
approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or a foreign
nuclear regulator with a signed memorandum of cooperation with
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(2) To assess, and recommend initiatives to improve, the
ability of the United States to--
(A) serve as the preeminent geography to
commercialize small modular reactor technologies after
initial or first-of-a-kind deployment; and
(B) secure and attract long-term manufacturing
industrial base investment in small modular reactor
fabrication.
(3) To recommend policy changes that would improve the
ability of the United States to host the manufacturing of small
modular reactor technologies identified in paragraph (1) that
are undergoing first-of-a-kind deployment outside of the United
States.
(4) To assess, and recommend initiatives to improve,
workforce readiness in the United States to enable small
modular reactor commercialization at scale.
(5) To identify strategic research objectives supporting
industrialization and small modular reactor fabrication cost-
reduction following first-of-a-kind reactor deployment.
(c) Chairperson.--The Secretary of Energy, or a designee of the
Secretary, shall serve as the Chairperson of the Working Group.
(d) Membership.--
(1) Mandatory members.--The Working Group shall be composed
of, at a minimum, representatives from--
(A) the Department of Energy (including, as the
Secretary of Energy determines appropriate, offices in
such Department, such as the Office of Nuclear Energy
and any National Laboratory);
(B) the Department of Defense;
(C) the Department of State;
(D) the Department of Commerce;
(E) the Department of the Interior;
(F) the Department of the Treasury; and
(G) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(2) Additional members.--The Secretary of Energy may add
members to the Working Group, as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(e) Annual Report.--Not later than December 1 of each year through
2030, the Secretary of Energy shall submit a report to the Committees
on Science, Space, and Technology and Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate on the findings and recommendations of the Working Group.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advanced nuclear reactor.--The term ``advanced nuclear
reactor'' has the meaning given such term in section 951(b)(1)
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271(b)(1)).
(2) Microreactor.--The term ``microreactor'' means an
advanced nuclear reactor with a rated capacity of less than 50
electrical megawatts.
(3) Small modular reactor.--The term ``small modular
reactor'' means an advanced nuclear reactor--
(A) with a rated capacity of less than 500
electrical megawatts; and
(B) that can be constructed and operated in
combination with similar reactors at a single site.
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