BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) has entered into a licensing agreement with Applied Atomics, granting Applied Atomics exclusive rights to commercially develop and deploy land-based nuclear facilities in the United States, Canada, and other regions using BWXT's mPower small modular reactor (SMR) technology. This move comes after activist investor Ananym Capital Management, co-founded by Alex Silver and Charlie Penner, pushed BWXT to commercialize its mPower design, which was shelved in 2017. Ananym Capital had suggested in May 2026 that commercializing the SMR could more than double BWXT's market value by 2028 from its then $19 billion market cap.
BWXT will retain ownership of the mPower intellectual property and exclusive manufacturing rights for all mPower components. It will also receive royalty rights for any components manufactured by Applied Atomics or other third parties. Applied Atomics, headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, with a design studio in Los Angeles, CA, will re-engage the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to resume mPower design certification activities and develop site-specific engineering for initial commercial deployments. BWXT will provide technical support as the licensing process advances.
The mPower SMR is an integral pressurized light-water reactor designed to generate 195 megawatts of electricity and 575 MWth of heat per reactor. Its integrated steam generator design aims to eliminate primary coolant piping and reduce the risk of loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) by housing all primary components in a single vessel. The reactor is designed to use standard low-enriched uranium fuel with a refueling cycle of at least two years. Ananym Capital had advocated for the mPower pressurized water SMR, believing it would be less expensive to manufacture and use less water compared to competing boiling water designs.
