On Tuesday 10 March, the European Commission presented a strategy aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) in Europe.
SMRs and AMRs are innovative nuclear technologies with the potential to contribute to the EU’s transition towards climate neutrality, energy security and industrial competitiveness, explains a press release.
SMRs “could mobilise entire value chains across several EU countries and different sectors, and become one of Europe’s next major industrial development projects”, explains the Communication (see EUROPE 13824/11).
“For those Member States that choose nuclear, we have identified that the commitment to keep on improving our capacities to develop and to lead the innovative developments to ensure that the small modular reactors can be part of this solution and have the potential to play an important role in decoupling from fossil fuels”, explained Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission, in Strasbourg. “We have come up with a strategy to facilitate the common work to develop joint standards, joint licensing and a fleet approach”.
This strategy “creates enabling conditions for research and innovation”, she stressed. “The shocks we are experiencing show to what extent more than ever we need to accelerate the energy transition, as a matter of competitiveness, but as I already said, as a matter of energy security, and economic stability”, she added.
Unlike conventional high-power nuclear reactors, SMRs are designed to be smaller and less powerful, with a modular design that allows their reactors or components to be manufactured in a factory and transported to site for immediate deployment or final assembly.
Complementing renewables, they can support the decarbonisation of the power sector while providing a wide range of low-carbon solutions - from district heating and industrial heat to chemical industries and hydrogen production - and provide stable power supply for emerging high-demand users such as data centres.
Total SMR capacity in the EU could reach between 17 and 53 GW by 2050, according to projections by the Commission’s Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC).
The Commission’s aim is to bring the first SMRs to market as early as 2030, so as not to fall behind China or the United States.
Measures include fleet-based industrial deployment of SMRs/AMRs, closer industrial cooperation and a competitive European supply chain, including fuel cycle services.
The industry is encouraged to develop and implement industrial standards that support a fleet approach to SMR deployment and modular manufacturing. Strengthening local supply chains and guaranteeing a high level of local content and European added value are essential for all SMR projects.
To support the timely roll-out of SMRs, the strategy encourages close regulatory cooperation, including joint early reviews and regulatory ‘sandboxes’ under the Net-Zero Industry Act, as well as the establishment of ‘SMR Valleys’ to further promote business collaboration and manufacturing. The creation of an ‘SMR coalition’ for interested EU countries is also proposed.
In addition, the Commission advocates simpler administrative procedures for export controls between EU countries for SMR projects, as well as the protection of European intellectual property developed in the context of SMRs.
The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group has also established a dedicated task force within which regulators from several Member States exchange information on SMR designs in the pre-licensing phase.
Such collaboration can avoid duplication, save resources and speed up the licensing of reactor designs. The result could be a ‘regulatory coalition of the willing’.
PINC. On 10 March, the Commission also published the final Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC) on nuclear investment needs. PINC estimates that around €241 billion of investment will be needed between now and 2050 to deliver on EU countries’ nuclear ambitions. These investments will cover both the lifetime extension of existing reactors and the construction of new large-scale facilities. PINC also highlights the need for additional investment to realise the potential of SMRs, AMRs and fusion technologies.
Link to the strategy: https://aeur.eu/f/l3n
Link to PINC: https://aeur.eu/f/l3p (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)