Nuclear energy set for record highs as race to develop SMRs heat up

The European Commission is expected to unveil a new alliance on small modular reactors (SMRs) by next month.

The European Commission is expected to unveil a new alliance on small modular reactors (SMRs) by next month, with the aim of deploying small nuclear projects across the continent by 2030.

European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson at the European Small Modular Reactor Partnership event in November 2023, said that “after a long and intense work of preparation, we must now draw conclusions on the opportunity and potential for establishing a European Industrial Alliance on SMRs.” 

“These technologies offer possibilities for nuclear energy to contribute to the decarbonisation of energy beyond power generation, in applications relying traditionally on fossil fuels.”

“A successful deployment of SMRs by the next decade will be an important and timely milestone on our path to climate neutrality by 2050.

“I am confident that the EU can have a leadership role in achieving technological maturity for SMRs. This means, to me, that the first SMRs must be connected to the European electricity grid within a decade at the latest. This must be our goal.”

European media this week said the alliance is due to be launched in February.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, which is about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors. 

The IAEA says public and private institutions are actively participating in efforts to bring SMR technology to fruition within this decade. 

Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov points out that the world’s first floating nuclear power plant that began commercial operation in May 2020, is producing energy from two 35 MW(e) SMRs. 

“Other SMRs are under construction or in the licensing stage in Argentina, Canada, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States of America.”

Commercial entities, including Microsoft, looking to develop SMRs

The IAEA says more than 80 commercial SMR designs are being developed around the world.

They are targeting varied outputs and different applications, such as electricity, hybrid energy systems, heating, water desalinisation and steam for industrial applications. 

News out of the US last year was that Microsoft has a programme to develop small-scale atomic reactors to power data centres. 

The company reportedly spent the latter half of 2023 working on a generative AI model for nuclear regulatory and licensing processes.

Nuclear generation set to grow over next few years

The developments being touted for SMRs come as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that by 2025, global nuclear generation is forecast to exceed its previous record set in 2021. 

“Even as some countries phase out nuclear power or retire plants early, nuclear generation is forecast to grow by close to 3% per year on average through 2026 as maintenance works are completed within France, Japan restarts nuclear production at several power plants, and new reactors begin commercial operations in various markets, including China, India, Korea, and Europe.” 

Many countries are making nuclear power a critical part of their energy strategies as they look to safeguard energy security while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the IEA says. 

The Agency says momentum is also growing behind SMR technology. 

“The technology’s development and deployment remains modest and is not without its difficulties, but R&D is starting to pick up.”

Last year, Chinese state media reported that assembly of the core module of the world’s first commercial SMR, Linglong One, was completed,

Located in south China’s island province of Hainan, Linglong One is a multi-purpose small modular pressurised water reactor.

“After completion, it is expected to achieve an annual power generation capacity of 1 billion kWh, which would meet the needs of about 526,000 households.

“It is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 880,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to planting 7.5 million trees a year,” Chinese state media reported.

The IAEA cautioned that while SMRs have lower upfront capital cost per unit, their economic competitiveness is still to be proven in practice once they are deployed.

Cover photo:  Model of the HTMR-100 small modular nuclear reactor. Image: Provided