欧洲电力行业联盟-欧洲电力公司立场文件：小型模块化反应堆及其在实现欧盟净零排放中的作用（英）

smallModular

Reactorsandtheir

Roleingettingthe

EUtoNet-zero

Eurelectricositionaper

November2023

EurelectricrepresentstheinterestsoftheelectricityindustryinEurope.Ourworkcoversallmajorissuesaffectingoursector.Ourmembersrepresenttheelectricityindustryinover30Europeancountries.

Wecovertheentireindustryfromelectricitygenerationandmarketstodistributionnetworksandcustomerissues.Wealsohaveaffiliatesactiveonseveralothercontinentsandbusinessassociatesfromawidevarietyofsectorswithadirectinterestintheelectricityindustry.

Westandfor

ThevisionoftheEuropeanpowersectoristoenableandsustain:

-AvibrantcompetitiveEuropeaneconomy,reliablypoweredbyclean,carbon-neutralenergy

-Asmart,energyefficientandtrulysustainablesocietyforallcitizensofEurope

Wearecommittedtoleadacost-effectiveenergytransitionby:

investingincleanpowergenerationandtransition-enablingsolutions,toreduceemissionsandactivelypursueeffortstobecomecarbon-neutralwellbeforemid-century,takingintoaccountdifferentstartingpointsandcommercialavailabilityofkeytransitiontechnologies;

transformingtheenergysystemtomakeitmoreresponsive,resilientandefficient.Thisincludesincreaseduseofrenewableenergy,digitalisation,demandsideresponseandreinforcementofgridssotheycanfunctionasplatformsandenablersforcustomers,citiesandcommunities;

acceleratingtheenergytransitioninothereconomicsectorsbyofferingcompetitiveelectricityasatransformationtoolfortransport,heatingandindustry;

embeddingsustainabilityinallpartsofourvaluechainandtakemeasurestosupportthetransformationofexistingassetstowardsazerocarbonsociety;

innovatingtodiscoverthecutting-edgebusinessmodelsanddevelopthebreakthroughtechnologiesthatareindispensabletoallowourindustrytoleadthistransition.

D/2023/12.105/44

DraftingTeamsMR

contact:

carISOMMERHOLTSeniorAdvisorThermal&Nuclear-

csommerholt@

AEurelectricpositionpaper

November2023

KEYMESSAGES

1.AholisticEU-wideregulatoryapproachisneeded:EurelectriccallsfortheEuto

facilitatepowergenerationtechnologiessuchassmallmodularreactors(SMRS)

throughaholisticEU-wideapproach.SMRtechnologyhasthepotentialfor

comparativelyshortconstructionlead-timesthroughahighdegreeof

standardisationandmodularconstructionofprefabricatedsMRunits

2.potentialroleofsMRsinthefuturepowermix:SMRscanbeanoptiontoreplace

existingcoal-firedpowerplantsanddecommissionednuclearstationsreutilising

existingsitesandinfrastructureaswellascontributingtodistrictheatingsolutions·

ThisallowstheEutoconsiderMemberstatesdifferentstartingpointsintheirnet

zeroeffortsandrecognisethefulldiscretionoftheirfuturedecarbonisedpower

generationmixThegreatestenvironmentalbeneftsofusingsMRsforheating

purposescanbeachievedinsystemsbasedonfossilfuelsthatdonotmeetthe

defnitionofaneffectiveheatingsystem.

3.contributiontofexibilityandindustrialdecarbonisation:carbon-freeelectricity

generationsuchassMRscansupportdecarbonisationandfacilitatetheintegration

ofever-increasingsharesofvariablerenewablesinthepowersystem.nthefuture

SMRscouldcomplementvariablerenewablesources,enhancingeffciencyand

improvingreliabilityofpowersupplyandprovideancillaryservicestoensure

stablepowersystemoperationswithresiliencetodisturbances.Byproviding

large-scaledecarbonisedbaseloadvolumes,SMRscancontributetoindustrial

decarbonisationandcompetitiveness.

4.AEuropeansupplychain:AcompetitiveEuropeansupplychainoftechnologies,

componentsandthecompetencestoimplementsMRsmustbeencouraged.This

wouldsupportEustrategicsovereigntyandcreatepossiblecompetitive

advantagesthatcomewithinnovativenewnuclearAcompetitivemarketplacefor

SMRsenablesbothmorecost-effectivebuild-outandmarketopportunities

BetweenEUMemberstatesthatfocusonsMRsandnuclearbothnuclear-specifc

andnon-nuclearspecificsMRpartsandcomponentscanbestandardisedand

therecanbecollaborationbetweenregulators.Moreover,SMRlicencingmaybe

harmonisedthroughcollaborationbetweennationalnuclearsafetyauthorities.

•ThesMRpartnershipinitiativeshouldbesupportedtostrengthenEuropean

supplychainsandcompetitiveness,conditionsforfinancing,andresearch

anddevelopment(R&D).AnIndustrialAlliancecouldensurewideand

eficientparticipationofstakeholderstobuildaresilientindustrialstrategy

andacceleratesMRdeployments.Groundbreakingresultshavealready

beenpresentedbytheEuropeansMRpre-partnership.

5.promotingatechnoogyneutralapproach:Allcarbon-freepowergeneration

technologies,includingsMRS,shouldbetreatedinatechnology-neutralwayinEU

energyandindustrialpolicyinitiativesratherthanplementarity

willbekeyingettingtonetzeroandincreaseddecarbonisedpowergenerationwill

beneededby2050.

•nthiscontext，wewelcometheinclusionofnucleartechnologiesamong

net-zerotechnologiesintheNetzeroIndustryAct(NZIA)asrecentlyput

forwardbytheEuropeanparliament.

SMRscontributingtodecarbonisation

witha2020baselineelectricitygenerationintheEuwillneedtopracticallydoubleby

2040,from3064Twhto5791TwhaccordingtoEurelectric's2023

sstudy.withjust17yearstogo，itisimperativetofocusonlarge-scale

electrifcation,energysecurityandlong-termenergysovereignty.Eurelectricfuly

supportsthetransitiontonetzeroasapriorityaswellasreachingambitious2030and

2040decarbonisationtargets.However,itwillrequireadeterminedEuapproachto

addresstheregion'senergyvulnerabilities.Buildingarobustenergysystemimmuneto

futureshockinelectricitypricesalsorequiresprovidingtheavailabilityandreliabilitythat

wilstrengthenEuropeancompetitivenessandfullysupportthenet-zerotransitionRecent

globaldevelopmentsalsoshowcasetheimportanceofenergysecurity，whichincludes

securityintheentireupstreamvaluechain.

REpowerEushifteddecarbonisationanddiversifcationeffortsintohighgear.Going

forwardwillrequireunwaveringpoliticalandindustrialledership.Nextyear'SEuelections

willbefollowedbyanewpoliticalprogramthatmustamplifytheopportunitiesofthenet-

zerotransformation.Tosucceed,thereisadireneedtoexpandlarge-scaleelectrification

wherebothrenewableandcarbon-freegenerationsourcescontributeharmoniously

Inrecentyearsnuclearpowerhasaccountedforaround45%oftheEuscarbon-free

electricityandupto25%ofthetotalelectricitysupply.Today,12EUMemberstateshave

nuclearreactorsinoperation:Belgium,Bulgaria,czechRepublic,Finland,France,Hungary,

TheNetherlands,Romania,spain,slovakia,sloveniaandsweden.MoreMemberstates

suchascroatia,Estonia,ltalyandpolandareconsideringtolaunchorrelaunchnuclear

programmeswhileforotherssuchasAustrianuclearenergyisnotconsideredtobean

option.

Nonetheless,thereisatechnologicalcontinuumtobeleveragedbetweenlong-standing

operatingexperiencewithexistinglight-watertechnologiesandfuturesMRS.Asubstantia

leetofsMRsintheEucouldcomplementthepresentleetoflarge-scalenuclearreactors

andotherdispatchableandcarbon-freegeneration(hydropowerpumped-storage

hydropowerorH2-readygasplantsinthefuture，etc).SMRscouldofferaviableoptionfor

hard-to-abateindustrieswheredecarbonisationwillbecomecrucialinthecomingyears.

Efcientregulation,scalingupelectricityinfastructureandindustrialdecarbonisationas

wellasarenewedfocusoninnovationandcultivatingessentialskillsareallcritica

prerequisites.Makingthishappenwillrequireatechnology-neutralapproachwithequa

conditionsforallcarbon-freeelectricitygeneration.

MaincharacteristicsoffuturesMRdesigns

Thispositionpaperfocusesontheimminentneedtodecarbonisesociety.Therefore,its

focusisonlight-watersMRS,atechnologythathasbeeninoperationforfvedecades

withavastknowledgebaseofoperationalexperienceacrosstheglobalnuclearoperator

community.

TheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA)recognisesover80largelydifferentsMR

designsandconceptsgloballywhichareatvariousstagesofdevelopmentand

technologymaturity.overall,thesesMRdevelopmentsinvolveseveraltypesofreactor

technologies:water-cooledreactors,high-temperaturegascooledreactors,liquid-metal

cooledandgascooledreactorswithfastneutronspectrumaswellasmolten-salt

reactors.AdvancedMicro-Reactors(AMRS)withalowercapacityoutputarealsounder

development.

2

AccordingtotheIAEAatypicalsMRpoweroutputisaround300megawatts(MW)butthis

mayvary.Light-watersMRsnowinfocuscomewithadvancedengineeringfeaturesand

canbedeployedassingle-ormulti-reactorinstallations.Thereactorsthemselvesare

designedinamodularfashion.Largerreactormodulesaretobefactory-producedand

shippedtobuildingsiteswherecivilworkshavealreadybeenprepared.Thiswillhelpbring

downcostsandde-riskprojects.suchanSMRinstallationwillalsohaveasmallerland

footprintcomparedtoalargenuclearreactor.Thisalsodependsontheconfgurationof

SMRsonsite.

TheEuropeansMRpre-partnership

RecentlytheEuropeansMRpre-partnershippresenteditsfndingonsMRsinaseriesof

reports.oneofitsreport'sprojectionsshowssMRdeploymentwillbeginaround2030

withsingleprojects.BY2035,2-5GwofinstalledsMRcapacitymaybeanticipatedonthe

Eumarket.AfleetofsMRscouldbedeployedby2040withacombinedcapacityofupto

20GW.partiestakingpartinthisworkincludetheEuropeancommission,theEuropean

NuclearsafetyRegulatorsGroup(ENSREG),thesustainableNuclearEnergyTechnology

platform(SNETP)andtheindustryorganisationnucleareurope.SNETpisoneofEusoffcial

EuropeanTechnology&InnovationplatformstoimplementthesET-plan.

SMRmarketposition-contributingtointegrationoflargesharesofvariable

renewables

Inadditiontonewlarge-scalenuclearintheEU,SMRsaresuitableoptionstoenhance

securityandreliabilityofpowersupplyandstabilityofelectricgrids.Accordingtooriginal

equipmentmanufacturers(OEMS),SMRtechnologiesaredesignedtoensurehigh

·gthroughquickramprates,up/downtimesetcandtoprovideancillary

servicestogridoperators.

SMRsarealsowell-suitedforsmallerpowersystemsaswellasmicro-grids.Forinstance,

smallersizesMRsallowreactorstobeusedinlocationswhereconventionalthermalpower

plantshavepreviouslybeenoperating.SMRsmayalsoprovetobeaperfectreplacement

forexistingcoa-firedgeneration.Thisopensthepossibilityforthetransformationand

reutilisationofcurrentcoalandnuclearsiteswheretherearealreadyconnectionstothe

grid,accesstowatersupplyaswellastransportandlogisticsinfrastructure.SMRscould

thereforesupportthepowersystematthosepointswhereitwillbemostbeneficialforgrid

operations.

versatileapplicationofsMRsbeyondelectricitygeneration

SMRscanbefundamentallyversatileandsupportelectricalaswellasindustrial

applicationssuchasheat,hydrogenetc.LittlewonderthatsMRtechnologyhassparked

interestbeyondtraditionalplayers.Asanelectricity-generatingsourcewithlowshort-run

marginalcosts,SMRsmaybewell-positionedtopowerelectricheatingaswellaselectric

vehicle(EV)charginginfrastructure.

3

InFinlandseveralmunicipalitiesandthenuclearregulator,STUK,areinvestigatingifsMRS

canbeusedfordistrictheating.Heatingandcoolingaccountforapproximatelyhalfofal

Euenergyconsumptionandisstillmainlycoveredbyfossilfuels,boastingasubstantial

decarbonisationpotentialthroughelectrifcation.SMRscancontributetodecarbonising

heatingwithlow-temperaturelow-carbonheattodistrictsheatingsystemsorindustrial

heattoindustrialendusers.

NewadvancedsafetyfeaturesandreducedenvironmentalfootprintofsMRtechnologies

mayallowforconstructionintheproximityofindustries.Decarbonisingindustrial

processeswilldrivedemandformoreaffordablecarbon-freeelectricityinadditionto

renewablegeneration.Thiscansupportlarge-scalemanufacturingofcarbon-freesteel,

fertilisers,batterychemicalsandpetroleumrefiningacceleratingtheshifttoasustainable

economy.ThisalsomeansthatsMRSCanbeimplementedonnewsiteswherethereis

alreadyexistingorsoontobebuiltnewenergy-intensivemanufacturingfacilities.

SMRsupplychains

TheEuneedsarobustvaluechainforallcriticaltechnologieswidelydistributedacross

EuropeincludingforsMRsandnuclearEuropeanmanufacturingcapacitytodeliver

newplayersamongsmall-andmediumsizedenterprisescanenterthesupplychain.

clearlythesectoritselfmustbeinthelead，butgovernmentsandauthoritiescanalso

provideencouragement,supportandrecognition.

ForaviableEuropeansupplychainofsMRsandcomponentstobecomeareality,there

conditionsforequipmentandstandardisedcomponentsareamust.Theremustalsobea

strongfocusonEuropeannucleartechnologyandengineeringtalent.studentsmustbe

incentivisedtoselectnuclearpowercareerpaths.Thiswillbenecessaryforbothlong-

termoperationsofalreadyexistingnuclearpowerplantsandforafuturesMRbuild-out.To

fosterawidelydistributedEuropeanhigh-technuclearcompetenceandskillsbasewillbe

essentialandaquestionofenhancedEustrategicsovereignty.withsMRscome

socioeconomicbeneftsintermsofnewhigh-skillsjobcreationandleading-edge

academicresearch,too.Inamorecompetitiveglobalenvironmentthismayalsocontribute

toretainingmoreoftheeconomicvalueoffuturenuclearwithintheregion.

TheEuhastakenactiontostrengthenEuropeansupplychainsoftechnologiesneededto

reachane-zeroeconomyatthelatestby2050.TheEuropeancommission'srecent

proposaloftheNetzeroIndustryAct(NZIA)shouldsupportsMRsandnuclearpower

generationtechnologyingeneral.Inthisregard,SMRsneedtoqualifyforacategoryof

net-zerotechnologies.Non-pricecriteriaintheNZIAshouldbedulydesignedtofacilitate

SMRdeployment.

Internationalcooperationandstandards

Eurelectricencouragesfurtherharmonisationandstandardisationinindustrycooperation,

technologydevelopmentaswellasbetweenEUMemberstatesinpreparatorystagesfor

licencing.ThiswillenablefastersMRdeployment.Thereisalsotheopportunityto

standardisebothnuclear-specifcandnon-nuclearspecificcomponentsandparts.There

isaneedforacompetitive,internationalandinnovativesMRmarketwithinternational

standardsandtheopportunityfornewplayerstoestablishthemselves.

4

ItisalsopossibletoleverageworkalreadyperformedataspecifcsMRcountry-of-origin.

TheIAEAhashighlightedsuchanapproachintheirlNSAG-26report,LicensingtheFirst

Nuclearpowerplant.withasignificantsMRbuild-outintheEUthereisthepotentialfor

long-termdevelopmentssimilartotheglobalsuccessoftheaviationindustry.The

EuropeansMRpre-partnershipidentifedpotentialvulnerabilitiesinthesupplyofnuclear-

gradepumpsandvalves,particularlybodycastingsandforgings.Thegenerator/turbo-

generatorsectormayalsofacelimitationsduetoarestrictedmarket.Amongutilitiesin

Finland,thekELpoprojecthasalignedrequirementsonindustrial-classcomponentstobe

usedinsafetyapplications.BasedonthisprojectFinnishandswedishutilitiesseeka

similaralignment

AnadoptionofaninternationalQualityManagementstandard(QMS)isimportantto

harmonisequalityassurancefortheindustry.Thiswouldguidethecurrentsupplychain

towardssharedrequirementandcertifcationstructureandpreventlostinvestmentswith

multiplestandards,aswellasprovideaclearentrypointfornewcompetition.TheNuclear

QualitystandardAssociation'svisionpropagatesuniffedlsostandards(particulary

ISO19443)asaprevailingcommonQMslanguage.Education,trainingandpersonal

certifcationmaybestreamlinedintheEusimilartotheBolognaDeclarationforuniversities.

Aswithconventionalnuclearreactorstherewillalwaysbestrictregulatoryrequirementson

nuclearsafetyandradiationprotectionforpeopleandtheenvironmentthatdoesnot

escapesMRS.FromthisaspectsMRsshouldbenodifferentcomparedtotoday'slarge-

scalereactorsrememberingthatthatsMRtechnologycomeswithpassivesafetyfeatures

andnewsystemdesigns.Independentnationalnuclearsafetyregulatorswillalwaysbe

essentialtowatchoversafenuclearoperations.Theremay,however,becollaboration

betweennuclearregulatorsandtheremaystillbemoreharmonisationofexistingstandards

andproceduresbetweenEUMemberstatesthroughstandardisationofsafety

requirementsandtypesofmaterialsrequiredforlicensing

currentnationalrequirements,licensingstandardsandprocessesfortheconstructionof

newnuclearpowerplantsarequitediverse.ltmaybepossibletoobtainmore

commonalitiesgiventheprospectiveeconomiesofscaleforsMRsandfurtheroptimise

supplychainsforstandardisednewnucleardesigns.Thiswouldservetheinterestsofboth

suppliersandutlities,forexample,withjointearlyreviewsandpotentialpre-licensing

regulatorycooperation.

underanycircumstanceearlystakeholderparticipationisimportant.Forinstance,there

maybeanapproachwithatype-approvalprocessforcomingsMRreactordesigns.Eu

Memberstatesmayooktomorepredictableandtimelylicensingandpermitting

processesandensurethenecessaryresourcesforallauthoritiesinvolved.Another

approachwouldbearisk-informedviewofsafetyoutcomesbeyondhighlyspecifed

InsupportofMemberstates'safeandsecuredeploymentofsMRSthelAEAhaslaunched

twointerconnectedmechanisms:TheIAEASMRplatformandtheNuclearHarmonization

andstandardizationInitiative(NHsl).ThesMRplatformfocusestheIAEA'ssupportand

expertiseacrosstheagencyfordevelopment,deploymentandoversightofsMRS.The

NHslprojectaimstoadvancetheharmonisationandstandardisationofsMRdesign,

constructionaswellasregulatoryandindustrialapproachesintwoparalleltracks,onefor

regulatoryandtheotherforindustryaspects.MeanwhiletheoECD-NEApointsoutthat

regionalcooperationcanaddevenmorevalue.oneexampleofinternationalcooperation

istheEuropeansMRpre-partnershipitselfandsucheffortsmaybewidenedtoensure

evenbroaderandmoreeffcientparticipation.Thiscanalsobeexpandedbilaterallywith

third-partycountries.

5

MarketdesignandeconomicsforsMRS

Amarket-basedapproachmustbethefoundationintreatingallcarbon-freeenergy

sourcesinatechnology-neutralwayMarketdesign,economicsandsupportmechanisms

mustfacilitatelong-terminvestmentsinallzeroandcarbon-freetechnologies,including

SMRS.AnSMRtechnologymarketmustbecompetitiveandenabledbyahighdegreeof

standardisedinternationalandserialmanufacturing.yetmanyinvestorsmaynotbeableto

implementsuchinvestment-intensiveprojectswithintheirownbalancesheetwithouta

signifcantnegativeimpactontheirowncreditrating-orwithoutanypublicsupport.For

thesereasons,additionalinstrumentsarecalledfor.somesucharrangementsofpublic

supportmaybeloanguaranteesand/orbusinessmodelsthatensurereturns,e.g,long-

termpowerpurchaseagreements(PPAS)contractsfordifference(cfDS)andothers.There

mayalsobeothermeansofassistancefromthestate.

Ambitiousclimatetargetsandtechnology-neutralcarbonpricingsuchastheEUEmissions

Tradingsystem(EUETS)provideacompetitiveedgetonet-zerotechnologies,including

SMRS,andfosterinvestments.TheEUETshasprovenitscapabilitytoreduceemissions

efciently,andthereforeastrongEUETsshouldremainatthecentreoftheEuclimate

policy.Therefore,itiscrucialthattheEU'sfnancialinstrumentsarealsoapplicabletosMRS.

Technology-neutralitywithallcarbon-freetechnologiesisespeciallyimporta