Europe Warms to Mini Nuclear Reactors

The European Commission is preparing to launch its first industry alliance on small modular reactors (SMRs).

Speaking at the recent 16th European Nuclear Energy Forum in Bratislava, the European Union's (EU's) Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson confirmed that an industry alliance will be announced in the coming months to support and plan for the future inclusion of SMRs into Europe's energy mix.

"We're witnessing a renewed interest in nuclear energy in the EU. It's seen as potentially being able to address all challenges: decarbonisation, security of power supply and EU strategic autonomy," she said. "And it's a trend that we're also picking up on in some of the updated draft National Energy and Climate Plans submitted by Member States. Several utilities, industrial actors, research organizations and Member States have shown interest in new nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors. These technologies can produce decarbonised electricity and other energy products, like industrial and district heating and hydrogen. These technologies can also keep people in jobs in the energy sector where other ones might be disappearing."

She added: "The stakes in the global competition are high, and it is important that we maintain European technological and industrial leadership in nuclear. For all these reasons, since 2022, the Commission has been involved in setting up a European SMR Partnership. There was broad support for this at a stakeholders forum in Brussels two weeks ago. And just yesterday, I discussed it in detail with European industry representatives, regulators, and the research community. Everyone involved is ready for a European Industrial Alliance for Small Modular Reactors. And today, I can confirm that the Commission will carry out all the preparatory work with a view to launching the Industrial Alliance in the coming months."

This is a big step forward for the fledgling technology, which has yet to see a single operational plant constructed and brought online. There has been a lot of activity in the European space in recent years. Industrial Info is tracking 24 potential SMR projects with a projected spend in excess of US$23 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

The announcement by Simson was welcomed by Yves Desbazeille, director general of industry body nucleareurope. "SMRs are expected to bring many benefits to the EU as a whole in terms of helping to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, as well as creating jobs and generating economic growth in the EU," said Desbazeille. "The groundwork has been laid by its predecessor, the European SMR pre-Partnership and we are delighted that the European Commission is now giving its full backing to this key technology of the future."

The positive European news comes as one of the leading lights in the sector, NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) (Portland, Oregon), has suffered a major setback with the cancellation of the first major SMR project in the U.S. The Utah-based Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at Idaho Falls was to have six reactors capable of supplying 462 megawatts (MW) of carbon-free energy to Utah customers. It was ditched due to lower-than-expected subscriptions from local power providers but has also been plagued by rising costs and delays. It also casts a shadow over NuScale's other planned projects, including one in Romania, where it is planning to construct an identical six-module, 462-MW plant as early as 2027/2028.

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