In 10 Years, Will You Wish You'd Bought NuScale Power Stock Right Now?

Energy has always been the backbone of the global economy, but the spotlight is brighter now than ever. Data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) have cranked up energy demand, especially in the United States, opening the door for nuclear energy to make a comeback after lying relatively dormant for years.

Some new technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs), have become the hottest topics on Wall Street. NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) sits squarely within that space, as the only company with SMR design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The stock is a classic case of high risk, high reward. Here's why in 10 years, investors might wish they had bought NuScale Power stock today, and how to protect your portfolio in case the stock doesn't live up to the hype.

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A compelling investment narrative

Small modular reactors are a potential game changer in the energy industry. They have smaller footprints, making them suitable for various sites and applications that would be too small for a traditional nuclear power plant. Most of the global SMR market currently resides in the Asia-Pacific region, but there are opportunities in the United States. President Trump signed an executive order last year, calling for America to increase its nuclear energy capacity from 100 GW to 400 GW by 2050.

NuScale Power's design approval in the United States gives it a huge head start, since everything moves slowly in nuclear due to all the regulatory red tape. In September 2025, ENTRA1 Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority agreed on plans for a 6 GW deployment of NuScale's SMRs, the largest in U.S. history.

To be clear, this will take many years to plan, approve, and build. NuScale Power began working with Fluor on an SMR project in Romania in 2021 and only received formal funding approval for construction earlier this year. That first reactor won't begin commercial operations until 2033. So, investors almost need a 10-year timeline just to see how the current events ultimately play out.

How these projects unfold will directly affect NuScale's ability to book future projects, especially since there aren't even any commercial SMRs active in the United States yet.

But the story has fallen apart before

The other side of this story is that a lot can go wrong along the way. The Romania project is moving forward, but what if something happens to the Tennessee Valley Authority project? It wouldn't be the first time.

NuScale Power had a project with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems that would have been the first operational commercial SMR in the United States. Unfortunately, they canceled the project in late 2024 due largely to soaring cost projections that ultimately derailed it.

The technical advantages of SMRs and nuclear power as a whole are only part of the equation. President Trump's executive order doesn't carry the weight of formal legislation. Political regimes will come and go over the next decade, and nuclear energy's resurgence could prove a fad if costs are too high or political momentum falls off.

Is NuScale Power a winner over the next 10 years?

NuScale has generated only minimal revenue from preliminary engineering work for the Romania project, $18.6 million over the past year. That will grow as the project progresses, but a lot is riding on this new project with the Tennessee Valley Authority. It probably holds the key to SMRs catching on in the United States, where NuScale has a unique advantage as the approved design.

If it all goes well, investors could wish they had bought NuScale right now. The stock has swung between $8 and $57 over the past year, and sits at just $12 today, a market cap of $4.1 billion. You want to buy speculative stocks at their lows. But you're clearly buying the stock for its story, and it could have a wide range of eventual endings.

It's worth buying near the lows so you don't miss out on the upside. Chasing it higher could be a mistake, and any investment should be kept to a small portion of a portfolio. Like with most lottery tickets, the biggest regret usually comes from risking more than you can afford to lose.

Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.