NuScale Power is a publicly traded American company that designs and markets small modular reactors (SMRs). It is headquartered in Tigard, Oregon. The design was certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January 2023. NuScale has agreements to build reactors in Idaho, in 2029 and 2030. NuScale's SMR designs employ diameter by high reactor vessels that use conventional cooling methods and run on low enriched uranium fuel assemblies based on existing light water reactor designs. Each module is intended to be kept in an underground pool and is expected to produce about 60 megawatts of electricity. Its coolant loop uses natural water-circulation, fed from a large water reservoir that can operate without powered pumps. History NuScale was founded based on research funded by the US Department of Energy and conducted by Oregon State University, the Idaho National Laboratory, and other schools beginning in 2000. Oregon State's nuclear department had been developing passive water-circulation techniques for cooling in nuclear plants. NuScale was founded based on research funded by the United States Department of Energy from 2000 to 2003. A group of scientists at Oregon State continued the work. They built a test lab at one-third scale and inherited related patents from the university in 2007, in exchange for an equity stake. NuScale was founded that year. Its first funding round came in January 2008. It began seeking certification with the NRC in February 2008. By 2011, NuScale had raised $35 million and had 100 employees in Tigard; Richland, Washington; and Corvallis, Oregon. NuScale was the first to submit small reactor plans to the NRC and the first to gain approval. It was evaluated by a consortium of utility companies called Energy Northwest. Funding difficulties and rebound In January 2011, NuScale's largest investor, Kenwood Group, was investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and later pleaded guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme. The SEC investigation was not related to Kenwood's dealings with NuScale, but Kenwood's assets were frozen just as NuScale was expecting additional funding. The company started making staffing and pay cuts as executives looked for new funding sources and most of the company's employees were laid off. That September, NuScale obtained a loan to re-hire 60 employees. In October, Fluor Corporation acquired a majority interest in the company for $3.5 million and promised almost $30 million in working capital. According to The Energy Daily, Fluor's investment saved