The Future is Small…Modular Reactors

Energy experts the world over are agreed: Nuclear power has a vital role in combatting climate change and reaching net zero. Nuclear emits no co2 . It is Green and will get us to “Net 0 “ faster. Nuclear is very complementary to solar and wind energy. While both wind and solar are intermittent, nuclear is always on.

What role exactly isn’t clear, but Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are likely to feature, if not dominate.

An SMR produces up to 300 megawatts of energy – enough to generate electricity for a million homes for 60 years, according to Rolls Royce SMR, one of the leading developers.

As of March 2024 there are exactly zero SMRs operating anywhere in the world. Even so, a nuclear version of the arms race is underway. Russia, China, Canada, the US, the UK, France and South Korea are all planning SMRs, with Ontario Power Generation of Canada furthest advanced, aiming to start construction in 2025.

There are even plans to deploy SMRs in Central and Eastern Europe, including Romania, where I’m developing solar and hydrogen facilities: potentially good news for my company.

What sets SMRs apart from their larger atomic energy cousins, apart from sheer size, is their manufacture and operation. SMRs are constructed in factories, piece by piece, to a standard design. The parts are then shipped to the eventual operation site and assembled.

They’re simpler, safer, cheaper, require less materials and have a smaller footprint than conventional nuclear power stations, making them easier to build and run.

Beyond these advantages, SMRs can be installed in remote locations with less developed infrastructure, and operated in combination with renewable energy sources. They can generate electricity, produce large amounts of hydrogen for industrial processes or very high temperature process heat for cement, pulp, chemical and steel companies.

Some countries and regions have decided that SMRs will be central to their energy and chemical plans: in Poland, a ‘Central Hydrogen Cluster’ aims to produce 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen every year. Polish group Industria has commissioned Rolls Royce to build SMRs for this cluster, in collaboration with Chiltern Vital Group, based near Bristol in the UK. Great British Nuclear (GBN) expects this arrangement to start producing SMRs by the mid-2030s.

Further north, The Tees Valley authority plans to build four SMRs near Hartlepool, as it redevelops old steel plants. And the UK government has promised a new nuclear roadmap, setting out plans for both SMRs and large nuclear reactors.

This is just one of the hurdles that SMRs will have to leap over, understandably, before they can be deployed.

What’s exciting is the prospect of reliable, relatively affordable energy that works in conjunction with renewables and can help to spread prosperity to more areas of the world.

Dinesh Dhamija founded, built and sold online travel agency ebookers.com, before serving as a Member of the European Parliament. Since then, he created the largest solar PV and hydrogen businesses in Romania. His latest book is The Indian Century.