EUROPE NEED SMR

BLOOMBERG - Jan 25, 2024 - The European Union is stepping up efforts to roll out small modular nuclear reactors in the next decade as it seeks to tap atomic power to help meet net-zero targets.
The European Commission is due to unveil its European Industrial Alliance on SMRs next month to encourage collaboration in a sector that has yet to get off the ground, according to a draft declaration seen by Bloomberg News. The technology can make a “key contribution” to the bloc’s new target to cut emissions 90% by 2040, which is set to be adopted on Feb. 6.
SMRs are drawing the attention of policymakers around the world since they can be mass-produced for assembly in various places, and are potentially cheaper and quicker to build than conventional plants. While SMRs aren’t commercially proven yet at scale and EU nations are split over nuclear’s role, the technology is seen as source of stable, low-emission power during the energy transition.
The alliance’s objective “is to facilitate and accelerate the development, demonstration, and deployment of the first SMRs projects in Europe in the early 2030s,” according to the draft document, which is still subject to change.
The bloc is also keen to ensure that innovative clean tech sectors emerge across the continent, rather than lose out to the US or China. It has formed similar industry alliances to promote battery and hydrogen industries.
Nuclear advocates have pushed for SMRs for more than a decade, but so far Russia is the only country to put them into commercial use. NuScale Power Corp., the only company with a licensed US design, this month said it’s cutting more than a quarter of its workforce after canceling its only project due to costs.
The International Atomic Energy Agency tracks more 70 unique designs in various stages of development worldwide, suggesting the kind of international technology standardization needed to drive down manufacturing costs is still some way off.
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