The 2026 annual meeting of the Holtec SMR Technical Advisory Council for SMR-300, was held on April 28, 2026, in Jupiter, Florida, and was led by its long-serving chairman, Mr. Chris Mudrick, Chief Nuclear Officer of Constellation Energy. This annual meeting provides the brainstorming forum for the assembled industry CNOs and other experts to appraise, critique, and commend all aspects of SMR-300 including safety, maintainability, and operational flexibility.
The detailed design images and in-depth technical presentations created the collective sense of elan and inevitability to deploy the first-of-a-kind SMR-300s at the Palisades site in Michigan. These units, named Pioneer 1 & 2, will provide 680 mw of clean, baseload power to Michigan and allow for expansion of new nuclear domestically and internationally.
The meeting was attended by over 140 invited industry experts from 71 different companies, including Constellation, Entergy, Energoatom (Ukraine), Southern, Excel, NEI, INPO, Hyundai E&C, Framatome, and Mitsubishi Electric, which constituted a robust review team encompassing virtually all aspects of the SMR-300 program.
The attendees consisted of business and technology leaders from Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Norway, Poland, Rwanda, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Türkiye, UAE, Ukraine, The United Kingdom, and The United States of America. The large contingent of participants from 22 countries shows the growing industry enthusiasm for the SMR-300 technology in all parts of the globe.
The committee noted the excellent licensing progress made in 2025, submittal of the Limited Work Authorization request for the Pioneer plant, continuous interactions with the NRC, the rapidly advancing manufacturing planning proceeding in the Company’s three plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the DOE’s generous, $400 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Tier 1 program which is critical for the Pioneer program. The meeting was attended by over 140 invited industry experts from 71 different companies, including Constellation, Entergy, Energoatom (Ukraine), Southern, Excel, NEI, INPO, Hyundai E&C, Framatome, and Mitsubishi Electric, which constituted a robust review team encompassing virtually all aspects of the SMR-300 program.
While the meeting is traditionally an excellent time to review the progress and challenge the work ahead, we had a noticeable absence at the meeting as long-time Advisory Board Member Chris Bakken III’s sudden passing shortly before the meeting left a noticeable void. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Katie, his children, and his family; we were able to share great memories of Chris and will always remember his sage advice and friendship to all. We honored him with this memorial video, shared now with the approval of his family. Rest in Peace Chris.
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