> "We expect the power generation portion of the system to be available as early as 2027
> with the nuclear module being available to customers about 2030 based on regulatory
> approval." From the report:
I have a million I'll bet they won't. No seriously, anyone want the other side?
There are a couple of different steps at the NRC.
First is the design review (validate the design works and would be safe). A new (large scale reactor) design review by the NRC takes (about) 5 years, and that is after the company has spent numerous years in engineering the new design. However, for SMRs (which generally are low power, and inherently safe, and have no proliferation possibilities), the design review can be as short as 18 months.
And then there is the specific site licensing review. The details always matter (some sites are geologically more interesting than others), and while the NRC has been trying to reduce the time frames, local community objections can push back the approvals for years (mention nuclear and some members of the community may pull out their pitchforks).
And then after the site approval, you can start to actually build your site.
INL (Idaho National Laboratory) has been working with industry on validating micro and small modular reactors, and has hosted some demonstration reactors. I don't recall Ampera formally announcing a selection of a fueled demonstrator site yet, but I seem to recall INL was mentioned as a possibility (Antares Nuclear used INL to test their Mark-0).