Half of the world’s population lives in cities, and this will grow as increased urbanization occurs in developing countries. Lagos, Dhaka, Manila and Cairo are examples of megacities (those with over 10 million inhabitants) in the developing world.

Air pollution and climate impacts of the world’s megacities are worsening (WMO/ IGAC, 2012; Cossardeux 2013). SMRs could be a source of emissions-free electricity to help power megacities and mitigate their effect on the air and the climate. To serve economic and city planning, they could be deployed as scalable multi-module plants ramping up to meet demand. In addition, they could be sited closer to load centres if a reduced surrounding safety zone due to their designs’ safety benefits (IEAE INPRO DF 5, 2012) could be envisaged.