The first Stakeholders’ Forum on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) has taken place in Brussels. Organised by the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (Alliance), with the support of the European Commission, the Forum brought together over 100 in-person participants and several hundred online, representing a wide spectrum of stakeholders – EU institutions, international organisations, policy-makers, industry, civil society, research and educational organisations.
In his keynote speech, EU Commission for Energy & Housing Dan Jørgensen said:
‘Beyond generating electricity, SMRs offer wide-ranging opportunities: from helping steel and chemical producers to decarbonise, to providing citizens with reliable low-carbon energy for district heating.’
The event provided an open and inclusive platform for discussion, allowing voices beyond the Alliance to contribute feedback and perspective on the societal implications of SMRs and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs). This engagement will help the Commission finalise its forthcoming Communication on a Strategy for SMRs, planned for publication in the coming months. The Strategy will explore ways of accelerating the development and deployment of SMRs in Europe over the next decade. It will aim to secure a high degree of local content and European added value in SMR projects, while also advancing European leadership on AMRs.
Discussions were also based on the Alliance’s Strategic Action Plan and the Commission’s recent Call for Evidence (which closed in December) and addressed a broad range of topics, such as public engagement and socio-political challenges of SMR deployment, the role of SMRs in EU objectives, cross-sectoral applications of SMRs as well as SMR safety and radioactive waste management.
Background
New technologies, such as small modular reactors, are making significant progress and have the potential to play an important role in the integrated energy systems by providing low-carbon electricity and/or industrial heat. Though most existing and planned nuclear power plants are large and light water-cooled units, small modular reactors (SMRs) represent a complementary solution to such power plants. SMRs could also contribute to the decarbonisation of hard to decarbonise sectors such as transport, chemical and steel industry, and district heating.
While the Commission remains technology-neutral – leaving the choice of energy mix up to Member States – it places particular stress on the fact that these new designs under development can only be used with the highest standards of safety, radiation protection for workers and citizens, responsible management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, and a reliable non-proliferation regime, which ensures that nuclear material is not diverted from its intended use.
At the same time, challenges still exist in validating the business case for SMRs, ensuring predictable and streamlined licensing processes and frameworks, developing supply chains to ensure profitability, identifying suitable nuclear sites, and achieving transparent dialogue between the concerned stakeholders.
Last year the Commission published the 8th “PINC” report on nuclear investment needs, which showed that nuclear energy will require significant investments, of around €241 billion until 2050, both for lifetime extensions of existing reactors and the construction of new large-scale reactors. It noted that additional investments are needed for SMRs, AMRs and microreactors and in fusion for the longer-term future.