Tisková zpráva
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague and Calla - Association for Preservation of the Environment released the publication "Small Modular Reactors for the Czech Market: An update - 2024". It analyses the current state of the field of small and medium-sized modular reactors (SMRs) and builds upon the unique study "Prospects for Small Modular Reactors in the Czech Republic", published in 2023. The author is Emeritus Professor Stephen Thomas from University of Greenwich, London. Edvard Sequens, the energy expert from Czech organization Calla, authored a chapter on the situation in the Czech Republic as the Czech largest energy company ČEZ established a strategic partnership with the British company Rolls-Royce in 2024 and companies such as Sokolovská uhelná and Orlen have expressed interest in SMRs, too.
A risky bet on SMRs
The news from the world of SMRs continued to flow throughout 2024. Any significant changes were mostly for the worse. In particular, the cancellation of UAMPS' US NuScale reactor project or the end of development of the French Framatome Nuward model. From the perspective of potential bidders, a bet on SMRs remains risky at least until a large number of orders of a particular type are placed. And until a larger number of SMRs are built and launched, it will not be clear whether the promises of price and feasibility, that currently appear too optimistic, can be relied upon.
Rolls-Royce and ČEZ
From the supplier's perspective, developing the technology to the point of commercial availability is a costly and risky project. This is also the case with Rolls-Royce. In order to proceed, it urgently needed external financial support so ČEZ stepped in and invested.
Given that none of the modular reactor designs, including the Rolls-Royce SMR, have yet been demonstrated in practice, and Rolls-Royce itself has never delivered nuclear reactors to power stations, it would seem sensible to wait until construction and operation have been tested in practice.
Plans for 2030 proven too optimistic
"The extravagant claims for SMRs in terms of costs, buildability, reliability and safety remain at best speculative and forecasts that, worldwide, the first SMRs would be generating power before 2030 are now clearly impossible. There are few, if any orders for SMRs so the claims for the technology are no more than marketing hype. As the process of turning expressions of interest in real funded projects progresses, the costs go up, completion dates are delayed and many of the projects collapse. As has always been the case with nuclear power programmes, the results will fall far short of the forecasted outcomes," stated the author of the publication, Professor Stephen Thomas.
SMRs in the Czech Republic?
Edvard Sequens, energy expert at Calla, adds to the Czech context: 'As far as the designs of SMRs developed in the Czech Republic are concerned, it is still true that both ČEZ and other potential investors do not count on their real use in the Czech Republic. Even in the case of foreign technologies, caution is in recommended, as all designs are still only on paper and the real possibilities of deployment and the price may lead to disillusionment of many nuclear optimists."
Klára Pleskačová, Energy & Climate Programme Manager at Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague, added: "Nuclear power is clamouring for attention in Europe and around the world, this time through SMRs. Not only are they not as small as their name suggests, they also fail to represent a reliable and safe technology that is worth investing in at the moment. The establishment of cooperation between the Czech company ČEZ and Rolls-Royce will not lead to energy independence in the Czech Republic for many years to come. This publication provides an overview of the current state of the SMRs and a realistic assessment relevant not only for the Czech Republic, but globally."
If you are interested in the publication "Small Modular Reactors for the Czech Market: An update - 2024", it is available for free download here.
