Doosan Enerbility signed an agreement on 29 October 2026 to manufacture the first upper reactor pressure vessel (URPV) module for NuScale Power’s small modular reactor. Doosan Enerbility President Kim Jong-doo and NuScale chief operating officer Carl Fisher signed it at Doosan’s headquarters in Changwon, South Korea. The announcement gives no contract value, no module count and no delivery date.
Doosan Enerbility deal: what is and is not disclosed
Reports of the signing state the scope as the first URPV module for NuScale’s SMR project. Everything that would let a reader size the order is absent.
| Item | Status in the announcement |
|---|---|
| Signing date | 29 October 2026 |
| Place | Doosan Enerbility headquarters, Changwon |
| Scope | First URPV module for NuScale’s SMR project |
| Contract value | Not disclosed |
| Number of modules | Not disclosed (only "first" is stated) |
| Delivery schedule | Not disclosed |
| Plant or customer | Not named |
The NRC design behind the Doosan Enerbility module
The URPV is the upper section of the reactor pressure vessel, which holds high-temperature, high-pressure coolant, according to reports of the signing. The vessel belongs to the NuScale design that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved in May 2025, two months ahead of schedule. The NRC page for the US460 design lists 77 MWe per module and six modules per plant, a total of 462 MWe (six times 77, an ENB calculation). The application was submitted on 1 January 2023.
From long lead materials to module production
NuScale placed a first order for long lead materials for the upper reactor pressure vessel with Doosan Enerbility in March 2023. The companies describe the 29 October agreement as a step from materials to commercial reactor equipment, and say they have worked together since 2019. NuScale chief executive John Hopkins called it a key step in moving an NRC-approved design toward commercial reactor modules. Kim Jong-doo said SMR technology is moving from technical validation to equipment manufacturing.
Korean industry is active across several SMR designs. The sodium-cooled reactor plan that SK Innovation set out with TerraPower and KHNP is covered in SK Innovation sets out K-Natrium plan with TerraPower, KHNP.
NuScale’s balance sheet frames the Doosan Enerbility order
NuScale reported second quarter 2026 revenue of $75,000 and a net loss of $50.063 million on 5 August 2026, against $1.9 billion in cash and investments, as set out in NuScale Revenue Falls to $75,000 as Net Loss Hits $50.1M. The Doosan Enerbility module is therefore a purchase by a company with almost no operating revenue. Whether it is paid from NuScale cash or from customer deposits is not disclosed.
Why the order matters for buyers and suppliers
A reactor design only becomes a project when someone builds its heavy components, and that step is where small modular reactors have so far been slowest to show progress. The signing gives NuScale a named fabricator for the first upper vessel module, which is the part a utility will ask about first when it compares delivery risk across designs. For a plant built from six 77 MWe modules, the vessel work repeats six times, so a fabricator that has completed the first unit sets the pattern for the rest of the series.
The limits are just as clear. The announcement gives no contract value, no number of modules and no delivery schedule, so the order cannot yet be read as a measure of demand. It shows that the supply chain is moving from long lead material purchases toward module production, not that a plant has reached a final investment decision. Readers tracking the sector should treat it as one verified step in a longer sequence, and wait for the next NuScale filing to see whether it comes with money attached.
What to watch
- NuScale’s third quarter 2026 results, for any figure on the Doosan Enerbility order, on prepayments to suppliers or on customer deposits.
- A named plant, owner and delivery date for the first module, which the announcement does not give.
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