The U.S. on Wednesday opened applications for up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of small modular reactor nuclear technology.

Axar.az reports that President Joe Biden's administration believes nuclear power is critical in the fight against climate change because it generates electricity virtually free from emissions, and that U.S. nuclear power capacity must triple to meet emissions goals.

Small modular reactors (SMRs) differ from traditional larger nuclear plants in that they have simpler designs and can be scaled to demand. Backers say they are inherently safer and will be less costly because they can be built in factories rather than at site. SMRs could be used to generate heat or power and for desalination.

But no U.S. commercial SMR has been built yet. Critics say they will be more expensive to run than larger reactors because they will struggle to achieve economies of scale. Like the large reactors, they will also produce long-lasting radioactive waste for which there is no final depository in the U.S.