Hitachi's reactor business grows, but its first SMRs are still years out

Hitachi's nuclear revenue jumped 48%, yet the small reactors it is selling won't be delivered until 2030 and 2032.

Hitachi reported that revenue in its nuclear energy division rose 48% year over year in fiscal Q2 2026, to ¥65.3 billion (about $415 million). The company plans to deliver the first of four BWRX-300 small modular reactors to Ontario Power Generation in 2030. The Tennessee Valley Authority has also chosen the Hitachi and GE Vernova joint venture to build at least one BWRX-300, with delivery set for 2032.

The BWRX-300 is a 300-MW design developed with GE Vernova. The nuclear line is small next to the rest of the Energy segment, which posted Q2 revenue of ¥960.4 billion (about $6 billion), up 28%. Orders rose 47% to ¥1,566.2 billion (about $9.9 billion), driven by transmission and data center demand. The Power Grids division brought in ¥893.7 billion (about $5.7 billion). Hitachi projects full-year Energy revenue of ¥4,060 billion, up 26%.

For abundance, this is a mixed signal. Growing revenue shows orders are firming up, and the reactor customers are real utilities. But revenue is not price. Nothing here shows cheaper power or wider access, and the first units are four to six years away. CFO Tomomi Kato said Hitachi uses indexing on long-lead contracts to pass cost increases along during production, so inflation risk may land on customers.

Watch for delivery milestones and whether costs hold. Executives said inflation and long timelines bear watching. Hitachi's annual report also warns generally that long-term or new-technology projects may see assumptions change or be terminated, without naming nuclear. Its claim that HMAX Energy can cut downtime-related revenue loss by up to 60% is the company's own. Dollar figures are approximate conversions.

Source: Utility Dive