How Europe´s digital and industrial transition is reshaping the nuclear landscape
Across Europe, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are moving to the forefront of energy and industrial policy debates. Expectations are high: scalable manu-facturing, standardized technology, en-hanced safety, lower investment thres-holds, simplified licensing procedures, and a wide range of potential appli-cations – including in energy-intensive industrial zones and digital infra-structures. As pilot projects take shape worldwide, the question arises whether existing European frameworks are adequate to support this development.
1. Technological Classification
SMRs are compact nuclear reactors with up to 300 MWe electrical and 1.000 MW thermal output. Their modularity lies in serial fabrication and standardized site assembly, designed to shorten con-struction time and reduce planning risk (IAEA Advances in SMR Technology Developments, 2022; OECD/NEA SMR Dashboard, 2024).
Current reference designs include GE Hitachi BWRX-300, EDF Nuward, Rolls-Royce SMR, Westinghouse AP300, and advanced prototypes such as Kairos Power’s molten-salt design and X-energy’s Xe-100. Several are now in pre-licensing stages across Europe and North America. In Canada, the govern-ment approved in 2025 the construction of four BWRX-300 units at Darlington, the first commercial Western SMRs, scheduled for grid connection in 2030.
2. The Legal Framework in Europe
No harmonized EU licensing system exists. Under Article 194 (2) TFEU, nuclear energy remains a national competence. The Euratom Directives (2009/71 and 2011/70) provide safety and waste standards, but not a common approval process.
To address this, the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs was launched in 2023 to build a shared industrial and regu-latory framework by 2030. Nine priority projects were selected in 2024, including NuScale VOYGR-6, EDF Nuward, Rolls-Royce SMR, and Newcleo LFR-AS.
At the 2025 European SMR Partnership Forum, the Commission announced a cross-border licensing roadmap (Fin-land–France–Czech Republic) and created a DG ENER working group on “Nuclear for Industrial and Digital Infrastructure.” This reflects growing engagement from the data-center and AI sectors seeking reliable baseload power.
3. European and International Developments
Many European countries are advancing concrete SMR programs:
• Romania – six NuScale VOYGR-6 modules (462 MW) at Doicești.
• Czech Republic – Rolls-Royce SMR feasibility at Dukovany.
• Poland – multiple GE Hitachi BWRX-300 projects with industrial partners.
• Slovakia – potential sites at Bohunice and Mochovce.
• Finland – Steady Energy develop-ping a 50 MW district-heating rea¬ctor.
• Estonia – Fermi Energia’s 600 MW BWRX-300 project targeted for 2035.
• United Kingdom – Rolls-Royce SMR and Westinghouse shortlisted under Great British Nuclear (GBN).
By 2025, at least five EU Member States had integrated SMRs into their transition plans, moving from research toward industrial deployment, particularly in data-intensive and hydrogen sectors.
Worldwide, the IAEA identifies 98 SMR concepts; only four are operational — two Russian floating reactors (Akademik Lomonossow) and two Chinese pebble-bed modules (Shidaowan, 2023). The global data-center electricity demand is forecast by the IEA to double to 945 TWh by 2030 (about 3 % of world consumption) – making secure, carbon-neutral baseload supply a strategic concern.
4. Legal and Institutional Gaps
In newcomer states such as Poland and Estonia, basic nuclear legislation is still developing. Many lack frameworks for siting, licensing, waste management, or liability. Implementation therefore depends on international instruments such as the IAEA Safety Standards, the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS), and the Joint Convention on Spent Fuel and Waste Safety, as well as the Euratom Directives. These set the baseline for consistent, internationally recognised national systems.
5. Licensing Logic and Siting Considerations
The classification of multi-module SMRs — as one or several facilities — affects environmental assessment, safety zones, and liability limits. Owing to their compactness, SMRs can be located in industrial clusters, hydrogen hubs, and digital-infrastructure zones.
Private industrial actors, notably operators of data centers, semicon-ductor fabs, and AI clusters, are exploring co-location models, with SMRs delivering about 100 MW directly to site. Such decentralised integration resem¬bles the historic Ruhr-model of colocated coal and steel production. Regulators in France, Finland, and the US are drafting guidance for these “nuclear-adjacent” IT campuses, cover-ing cybersecurity, physical protection, and emergency planning.
6. Industrial Demand, Costs, and Viability
SMRs are attracting tech-sector invest-ment unprecedented for nuclear energy:
• Microsoft began building a global SMR strategy team in 2023.
• Amazon invested (2024) in energy utilities and in X-energy (Xe-100).
• Google ordered seven Kairos Power reactors, according to FAS (2025).
Their motivation is not primarily cost but reliability – avoiding data-center shut-downs caused by fragile grid supply.
Yet economic hurdles remain:
• NuScale’s estimated capital cost doubled between 2015 and 2023 (from about 8.600 €/kW to > 18.000 €/kW);
• Argentina’s CAREM project saw a six-fold overrun and suspension;
• Studies (Applied Energy, 2024) suggest competitiveness only below 7.400 €/kW – a threshold few Western projects meet today.
7. Safety and Risk Profile
SMRs benefit from inherent safety advantages due to smaller fissile inventories. KIT (2024) simulations show that, even in a loss-of-coolant scenario, flooding the reactor vessel suffices to cool the core and prevent radioactive release. SMRs up to 300 MW are deemed about 10 times safer than large-scale reactors, aided by modern digital controls and passive safety systems.
8. Conclusion and Outlook
SMRs combine technological promise with regulatory and financial complexity. Their future in Europe depends on standardised licensing, cost reduction, and industrial integration.
With AI and cloud-computing demand projected to consume > 10 % of EU electricity by 2030, SMRs are shifting from theoretical concept to industrial necessity. For the first time, private industrial demand — not state policy — is driving the nuclear innovation.
Whether Europe can align its regulatory environment with this new reality will determine if SMRs remain a global export story — or evolve into a genuinely European success.
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