Small Modular Reactors (SMR) Patent Landscape 2026
Small Modular Reactors (SMR) Patent Landscape in 2026
The SMR patent field is in a confirmed growth phase, with a 45% rise in filings over the recent window and Westinghouse Electric holding the largest portfolio among ranked applicants. Activity is moderately concentrated at the top, with a diverse challenger tier spanning US, European, and Asian developers pursuing distinct reactor concepts.
Westinghouse leads a moderately concentrated field with an active challenger tier
Among the top hundred ranked applicants, Westinghouse Electric Corp holds the largest portfolio at 234 patent records, followed by BWXT mPower (181), TerraPower (156), the French Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA, 119), and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (118). These five together account for 31% of the top-hundred filers’ combined total.
The top-five share of 31% signals moderate concentration: Westinghouse’s lead is clear, but the gap to the second and third tiers is not prohibitive. Ranks six through twelve — SMR Inventec, the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Copenhagen Atomics, Rolls-Royce SMR, Terrestrial Energy, Abilene Christian University, and NuScale — are tightly bunched between 70 and 103 patent records, indicating a competitive mid-tier.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westinghouse Electric Corp | 234 | |
| 2 | BWXT mPower Inc | 181 | |
| 3 | TerraPower LLC | 156 | |
| 4 | Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) | 119 | |
| 5 | KOREA HYDRO & NUCLEAR POWER CO LTD | 118 | |
| 6 | SMR Inventec LLC | 103 | |
| 7 | Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 100 | |
| 8 | Copenhagen Atomics AS | 78 | |
| 9 | Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd | 77 | |
| 10 | Terrestrial Energy Inc | 72 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Abilene Christian University | 70 | |
| 12 | NuScale Power LLC | 70 | |
| 13 | BABCOCK & WILCOX MPOWER INC | 65 | |
| 14 | Technicatome (Societe Technique pour l’Energie Atomique) | 60 | |
| 15 | Thorium Power Inc | 58 | |
| 16 | Scott Ian Richard | 54 | |
| 17 | GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC | 48 | |
| 18 | Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute | 38 | |
| 19 | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 33 | |
| 20 | Advanced Reactor Concepts LLC | 30 |
The breadth of leading entities — spanning established nuclear OEMs, government research bodies, dedicated SMR start-ups, and universities — suggests the field has not yet consolidated around a dominant design or a single commercial winner. Freedom-to-operate risks therefore vary considerably by reactor concept and subsystem.
Rankings and corpus total are measured in patent records (one record per filing, so a family filing in multiple offices generates multiple records). The corpus total of 1,849 is a patent-family count, a different unit; branch, jurisdiction, and technology-composition counts are at the patent-record level and can exceed the family total because a single family often carries multiple IPC classes or appears in several offices. The most recent 18–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted.
Annual filings are still rising and reactor-core IP dominates the technology mix
The filing trend and technology-composition charts together show a field that is growing in volume while remaining heavily anchored in core reactor engineering, with a long tail of adjacent subsystem branches that are comparatively sparse.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed from 148 records in 2017 to a visible high of 303 in 2024, reflecting the 45% growth over the recent window. The sharp drop in 2025 and the near-zero 2026 figure are artefacts of publication lag — typically 18 to 24 months for PCT and national-phase filings — and should not be read as a real decline in activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G21C (Nuclear reactors) dominates at 2,693 patent records, dwarfing all other branches. G21D (Nuclear power plants, 625 records) is the only other branch with substantial depth. Downstream subsystems — heat exchange (F28D, 68), valves (F16K, 65), steam generation (F22B, 55), and radiation shielding (G21F, 119) — carry far fewer records, indicating that most competitive IP activity is concentrated in reactor design rather than balance-of-plant engineering.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaFoundational and most-cited patents
The most-cited families that anchor this space. Hover a row and click to open it in Eureka.
Nuclear power plant including small modular reacto…
The present invention relates to a nuclear power plant which includes a small modular reactor (SMR), the nuclear power plant comprising a water tank, wherein the water tank comprises: a first water tank filled with cooling water and forming a first space in which spent nuclear fuel is disposed; and a second water tank forming a second space which is… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear reactors and related methods and apparatus | 122 |
| 2 | Nuclear reactors and related methods and apparatus | 117 |
| 3 | Molten salt nuclear reactor | 105 |
| 4 | Apparatus for transmutation of nuclear reactor waste | 84 |
| 5 | Integral molten salt reactor | 82 |
| 6 | Molten nuclear fuel salts and related systems and … | 80 |
| 7 | Offshore and marine vessel-based nuclear reactor c… | 77 |
| 8 | Heat pipe molten salt fast reactor with stagnant l… | 76 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts accrue over time, so this list favours older, broadly-cited patents and may include general-purpose work beyond the specific topic; treat it as foundational context rather than a current-activity ranking.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a growth-phase filing curve, moderate top-tier concentration, active university–industry co-filing, and a US-dominant but globally distributed jurisdiction profile shapes where risk and opportunity sit for new entrants and incumbents alike.
Growth phase: annual volume still rising, publication lag masking true 2025–2026 pace
The lifecycle evidence places SMR squarely in the Growth stage, with annual filings rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. The 45% recent-window growth confirms expanding inventor activity rather than a maturing plateau. R&D investment now enters a field where prior-art density is building quickly, making early freedom-to-operate searches increasingly important before committing to a reactor concept.
Growth stageModerate concentration with a crowded mid-tier makes niche differentiation viable
The top five filers hold 31% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, and the mid-tier (ranks 6–12) is tightly packed between 70 and 103 patent records each. This structure means no single player controls the landscape, but white space is narrowing in core reactor design (G21C). Differentiation strategies focused on balance-of-plant, instrumentation, or fuel-cycle subsystems face less incumbent density. SMR Inventec’s strong position in reactor cooling and containment (G21C15, G21C13) illustrates how a focused portfolio can carve out a defensible niche without matching the leaders’ breadth.
Moderate concentrationUniversity consortia dominate co-filing; national-lab and industry pairs are smaller but strategic
The most active co-filing partnership is Abilene Christian University paired with both Texas A&M University and the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System, each with 25 joint records, and with Georgia Tech Research Corporation (22 records). These university clusters suggest government-funded research programmes driving early-stage IP. On the industry side, CEA and Orano have co-filed on five records, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute on three, and NuScale with Curtiss-Wright on two — smaller counts that reflect selective, project-specific collaboration rather than systematic joint development.
University-led co-filingUS filing office leads; Europe and PCT are substantial; Asia filing is growing
The United States leads at 729 patent records at the office level, followed by the European Patent Office (432) and WIPO/PCT (392) — together indicating that applicants broadly seek trilateral protection. China (232), Canada (197), and South Korea (177) form the next tier. The breadth across 45+ jurisdictions reflects the global ambition of SMR deployment pipelines, but also means that IP landscape gaps in any single jurisdiction can be real rather than global white space. Russia (10 records) and India (38) are present but relatively sparse given their stated SMR programmes.
US-led, globally distributedGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian University | Texas A&M University | 25 |
| Abilene Christian University | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 25 |
| Abilene Christian University | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 22 |
| Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) | Orano SA | 5 |
| Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd | Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute | 3 |
| Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Zhejiang Jiuli Hi-Tech Metals Co Ltd | 2 |
| NuScale Power LLC | Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corporation | 2 |
| Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd | KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co Inc | 1 |
| Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 1 |
| Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Westinghouse anchors the field; CEA and Copenhagen Atomics show the sharpest recent momentum
The top applicants diverge significantly in trajectory: established OEMs are consolidating existing portfolios while newer entrants and national labs are accelerating filing rates, reshaping the competitive order in specific reactor-concept segments.
Westinghouse Electric Corp
Westinghouse holds 234 patent records, the largest portfolio among ranked applicants, concentrated across reactor cooling systems (G21C15, 80 records), reactor design (G21C1, 74), and fuel handling and storage (G21C19, 69). Its recent-period filing rate has moderated by 12% versus the prior three years, suggesting a portfolio-consolidation phase rather than an aggressive expansion push. Its depth across all core G21C subclasses gives it broad freedom-to-operate coverage in light-water SMR designs.
patent records: 234CEA (Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique)
CEA holds 119 patent records and has surged at 6.0 times its prior three-year filing rate in the most recent period, the highest momentum of any established large filer in the ranking. Its focus spans reactor design (G21C1, 76 records), cooling systems (G21C15, 63), and fuel assemblies (G21C3, 28), with strategic co-filing alongside Orano. This acceleration, combined with its position as France’s national energy research body, positions CEA as the most rapidly expanding institutional filer and a likely reference point for European SMR standardisation efforts.
patent records: 119| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Westinghouse Electric Corp | 30 | ▼ -12% |
| TerraPower LLC | 17 | ▼ -62% |
| Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd | 79 | ▲ new entrant |
| Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) | 72 | ▲ 6.0× vs prior 3-yr |
| Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 24 | ▼ -23% |
| SMR Inventec LLC | 3 | ▼ -82% |
| Copenhagen Atomics AS | 48 | ▲ +167% |
| Abilene Christian University | 63 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served subsystem branches adjacent to the dominant reactor-core cluster
While G21C dominates filing volume, several engineering subsystems that are essential to SMR deployment carry comparatively sparse patent records. These branches are observations of relative sparsity; whether they represent actionable entry points depends on technical fit and commercial pathway.
F28D · Heat-Exchange Apparatus
Heat-exchange apparatus carries only 68 patent records despite being a critical enabling subsystem for passive-cooling and heat-pipe SMR concepts — both of which appear prominently among the most-cited patents in this corpus. The sparsity relative to G21C (2,693 records) suggests that reactor developers have filed at the system level without extending protection into the component-level heat-transfer hardware. A company with heat-exchanger manufacturing capability and nuclear-grade materials expertise could potentially establish early positions in this gap, particularly for molten-salt and heat-pipe fast-reactor variants where standard designs do not apply.
Search this in Eureka →G21F · Radiation Protection & Shielding
Radiation protection and shielding (G21F) holds 119 patent records — the largest of the identified adjacent branches, yet still less than 5% of the G21C record count. SMR designs emphasise factory fabrication and compact shielding as key differentiators versus large reactors, making shielding IP commercially relevant to both module manufacturers and site-licensing processes. The branch is sparse enough that a focused filing programme in advanced shielding materials or modular containment configurations could establish a defensible position without displacing incumbent reactor-design portfolios.
Search this in Eureka →How leading SMR applicants differ by reactor-concept and subsystem emphasis
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | G21C 1 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 3 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 15 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 19 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 13 · Nuclear reactors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TerraPower LLC | Strong · 106 | Strong · 94 | Moderate · 47 | Moderate · 36 | Absent |
| Westinghouse Electric Corp | Strong · 74 | Moderate · 34 | Strong · 80 | Strong · 69 | Absent |
| Babcock & Wilcox mPower Inc | Strong · 64 | Moderate · 27 | Strong · 39 | Moderate · 23 | Strong · 49 |
| Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) | Strong · 76 | Moderate · 28 | Strong · 63 | Moderate · 17 | Emerging · 15 |
| Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd | Strong · 77 | Absent | Strong · 49 | Moderate · 17 | Absent |
| SMR Inventec LLC | Absent | Absent | Strong · 70 | Absent | Strong · 44 |
| Copenhagen Atomics AS | Strong · 40 | Strong · 35 | Absent | Moderate · 13 | Moderate · 17 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 1,849 patent families. Applicant rankings and route-matrix figures are measured in patent records, which can exceed the family count because a single family filing in multiple offices generates multiple records.
Westinghouse Electric Corp leads with 234 patent records among the top-hundred ranked applicants, followed by BWXT mPower (181), TerraPower (156), CEA (119), and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (118).
Yes. The evidence places the field in a Growth lifecycle stage, with a 45% rise in filings over the recent window and annual records climbing from 148 in 2017 to 303 in 2024. The apparent drop in 2025–2026 reflects publication lag of 18–24 months, not a genuine slowdown.
At the patent-record level, the United States leads (729 records), followed by the European Patent Office (432), WIPO/PCT (392), China (232), Canada (197), and South Korea (177). These figures are at the office level and a single family can appear in several, so they exceed the family total.
The top-cited patents by forward-citation count cover integral light-water reactor designs, molten salt reactors (including both fast and thermal variants), and offshore marine-vessel-based nuclear plants. Molten-salt concepts account for several of the top eight most-cited titles.
The most active co-filing partnerships are between Abilene Christian University and Texas A&M University (25 joint records), Abilene Christian University and the University of Texas System Board of Regents (25 records), and Abilene Christian University and Georgia Tech Research Corporation (22 records). On the industry side, CEA and Orano have filed jointly on five records, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute on three.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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