The next pick after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is definitely power, and that is SMR.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are the next names, and the answer is definitely power, which is why SMR is it.

![ChatGPT Image 2026_6_13_07_08_41(https://bullstory.io/blog-images/fc1425bd2631d31e59dae75667a4821b.png)

With the explosive rise of generative AI led by ChatGPT, it is not only Samsung Electronics and SK hynix that matter.
Generative AI has a truly fatal drawback.
That drawback is power.

GPUs, which are essential for AI computations, consume dozens of times more power than traditional servers, and global big tech companies are at a loss because they cannot secure the electricity needed to run data centers.

Under global regulations centered on carbon neutrality, they cannot keep building coal-fired power plants endlessly, and solar or wind power fluctuates in output depending on the weather, making 24them unsuitable as the heart of data centers that must run at full capacity around the clock.

In the end, a solution that can supply overwhelming power continuously around the clock without emitting carbon
is being identified as the only realistic answer, SMR (Small Modular Reactor)త774 is being identified.

Compared with the100th1 of existing large-scale nuclear reactors, SMRs are manufactured in module form in factories, as if being mass-produced, and then assembled on site, which dramatically reduces construction costs and time, and can cool naturally in the event of an accident, fundamentally blocking the risk of a meltdown (core melt).

2026As of this year, discussions on enacting a special SMR law in Korea and global demonstration projects are converging, the market is entering a full-fledged growth phase.

Now that South Korea, once a major exporter of large nuclear reactors, is aiming to leap forward as a global foundry (contract manufacturing) base for SMRs, let’s break down the core structure of the SMR value chain that investors must know.

At the end, we will introduce an ETF that gathers major SMR companies, so please stay with us to the end.

---

1. The design of the brain and the casting of the heart: the birth of SMR

It is the highest-barrier stage for drawing the concept of an SMR onto paper and turning the most essential power source into a physical reality.\

• Design and Engineering (Brain Design) | KEPCO Engineering & Construction:

It sits at the very front of the SMR value chain.

It designs the standard model for the Korean i-SMR and oversees reactor system design, safety analysis, and the demanding licensing response required by regulators.

When an SMR construction project begins, it acts as the advance guard that generates revenue first.

• Main equipment and module fabrication (core manufacturing) | Doosan Enerbility:

The reactor pressure vessel (RPV), steam generators, and other core SMR components are produced together as a single module.

Because SMRs must be prefabricated in a factory and shipped to the site, seamless large-scale forging technology and precision electron-beam welding technology are vital.

Doosan Enerbility has 17,000established itself as a unique company that turns blueprints into actual products through overwhelming facilities such as ton-class large presses and global order references, including X-energy in the United States.

2. Control of the neural network and connection of the blood vessels: infrastructure and control systems

No matter how excellent a reactor is, it is useless without a device that can control it safely and convert steam into energy.

• Instrumentation, control, and MMIS (nervous system) | Woojin, Woori Technology:

Compared with large nuclear power plants, SMRs have a much higher degree of unmanned operation and automation.

Therefore, the value added from high-precision sensors (Woojin) that monitor the reactor's temperature, pressure, and neutron flux in real time640; the MMIS brain system (Woori Technology) that integrates and controls the plant's entire nervous system758is much greater.

• Equipment, auxiliary equipment (BOP), and special materials | BHI, Sungkwang Bend:

BHI, which handles the overall power generation equipment excluding the main equipment, such as heat exchangers and boilers, is regarded as a spillover beneficiary of SMR1rankings.

Also, special piping and fittings that must withstand radiation and high temperature and pressure (Sung Kwang Bend) will see surging demand as standardized, high-reliability components, given the SMR characteristic of being assembled in factories to standardized specifications.

3. Real-world implementation and scaling: Construction, operations, and transmission/distribution

This is the later-stage process of erecting the completed modules on actual land, operating them without interruption, and delivering the vast electricity produced here to AI data centers.

• EPC·Construction (on-site implementation) | Hyundai E&C, Samsung C&T, Korea Electric Power:

Although modularization has greatly reduced on-site construction risk, site preparation, civil engineering, mechanical installation, and power grid connection work still fall to large construction firms. Large contractors with overseas nuclear export track records, together with Korea Electric Power, which oversees the project, form the core.

• Operations, maintenance, and decommissioning (O&M) | KEPCO KPS, Orbitec:

SMRs are smaller in scale, but they have a larger number of modules. As the number of operating modules increases, the O&M market that maintains them and performs non-destructive testing (NDT) turns into an inexhaustible long-term cash cow.

• Power grids and transmission/distribution (grid expansion) | Hyosung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Electric:

No matter how much electricity nuclear plants generate, it is useless if there is no highway—the power grid—to carry it.

Companies that supply heavy electrical equipment such as transformers and circuit breakers are the endpoint of the SMR value chain, and are key players holding the bottleneck to solving the power shortage in the AI era.

---

[Investment Decision] When should the SMR cycle be bought, and what should be bought?

From an investment perspective, the SMR theme has a clearly different timing for when earnings are recognized, depending on the process sequence.

To formulate an accurate investment strategy, you need to understand the time series of this industry.

**1. Look for the spillover effect that spreads from core SMR equipment to small and mid-cap parts, materials, and equipment suppliers.

At present, market supply and demand are concentrated in large main equipment stocks, such as Doosan Enerbility, which monopolize vast amounts of capital and facilities.

However, the true alpha in returns comes after the rally in large-cap stocks has taken hold, when that warmth spreads to the lower layers of the value chain.

2026Since the second half of the year when concrete order announcements and mass-production schedules for global SMR projects become visible, strong rotation will move into small and mid-cap equipment and instrumentation and control sectors such as BHI, Woojin, and Woori Technology.

The key is to buy on dips when they are corrected and capture the ripple effect of the mass-production cycle ahead of time.

2. If you dislike volatility, hold the perfect overlap: 'power grid'

SMRs are a great alternative, but
short-term noise can occur, such as the complex political interests unique to nuclear power plants or licensing delays.

If timing individual SMR stocks feels burdensome,
then the surest alternative is to buy the sector of 'power grid (transformers and power equipment)', in other words, the strategy of buying this instead of that.

Whether electricity is generated with SMRs or by other methods,
replacing and expanding an aging power grid is an unavoidable fate in the AI era.

Companies such as Hyosung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Electric
are positioned at the intersection of the mega trends of both SMRs and AI data centers, and can be the most comfortable place to invest.

3. If you want basket buying instead of the art of timing, approach it through an ETF

If you find it hard to match individual stocks while reading this news and that report, and you are busy with your main job,
rather than trying to time a specific stock, we recommend using a passive product such as 'SOL Korea Nuclear SMR ETF'.

Below are the constituent stocks of the current 'SOL Korea Nuclear SMR' ETF.
2026.06.12 basis

Because it includes the entire SMR value chain, from Doosan Enerbility to KEPCO Engineering & Construction and small and mid-sized equipment companies,
it will firmly reduce risk and be the safest way to ride the huge bullish wave of the coming 'nuclear renaissance'.