Advancing SMR Safety
Paragon Awarded Contract to Complete Final Design for NuScale SMR Safety System
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NuScale Power has awarded Paragon, a Mirion Technologies company, a contract to complete the final design work for the protection system that safeguards each of its small modular reactor (SMR) units, according to Business Wire. The deal covers Paragon's Highly Integrated Protection System (HIPS) — the digital brain that monitors and protects each individual NuScale Power Module (NPM).
The contract also includes Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services — a required third-party audit of safety-critical software before any system can go live inside a reactor. NuScale already has components for 12 power modules in production, Business Wire reports.
A 16-Year Partnership Reaches Its Final Engineering Step
NuScale and Paragon — then called Rock Creek Innovations — began co-developing the HIPS platform back in 2010. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the system in 2017, making it the first SMR-specific protection system to clear that regulatory bar. Mirion Technologies acquired Paragon in December 2025, folding it into its nuclear safety division.
NuScale CEO John Hopkins said Paragon has been "a valuable technology partner in the development of the HIPS technology, advancing the digital instrumentation and control systems that are essential to safe and reliable plant operations," according to StreetInsider. Paragon CEO Doug VanTassell called the contract "the culmination of years of collaboration."
What HIPS Does and Why IV&V Is the Final Hurdle
HIPS uses Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. Think of it as hard-wired logic rather than traditional software. That design makes it more resistant to cyberattacks and gives it reliability closer to older analog systems — a key requirement for modern nuclear safety, per Business Wire.
The IV&V work included in this contract is the critical last step. An independent team audits the safety logic to confirm it works correctly under all conditions. Completing IV&V successfully is the final green light before these systems can be installed in a live reactor.
NuScale's Stock Fell 7% Despite the Technical Win
The market did not celebrate. NuScale's stock (NYSE: SMR) dropped roughly 7% on the news, according to Investing.com. The slide came alongside a brutal Q1 2026 earnings report — NuScale posted just $0.6 million in revenue against a forecast of $4.99 million, missing by more than 88%.
Analysts remain split on the company's future. BofA Securities started coverage with a "Neutral" rating and a $12 price target, acknowledging NuScale's "first-mover advantage" but warning of long lead times to real revenue. Northland Securities cut its price target from $21 to $19 in May 2026, citing "no tangible updates" on key domestic deals, per Investing.com.
SMR Technology Eyes AI Data Centers and a $332 Billion Tailwind
A single NuScale Power Module produces 77 megawatts (MW). A standard 12-module plant outputs 924 MW total from one shared control room. That kind of large-scale, carbon-free baseload power is exactly what companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are hunting for to run their AI data centers.
The broader backdrop is tilting in NuScale's favor. Japan committed $332 billion in late 2025 to support U.S. nuclear projects, according to Finance Yahoo. Mirion CEO Thomas Logan said Paragon's acquisition puts his company at "a generational inflection point for sector growth." The technical path is now clearer than ever — the commercial path remains the harder road.
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