Interview: the builder's playbook for Advanced nuclear (SMRs & Gen IV) — hard-earned lessons

European utilities committed over €12.5 billion to small modular reactor (SMR) development programs between 2023 and 2025, representing the largest coordinated nuclear investment surge on the continent since the 1980s. Yet behind these headline figures lies a complex operational reality that separates successful deployments from costly delays. In conversations with project developers, licensing specialists, and supply chain executives across Europe, a consistent theme emerges: the gap between technology readiness and commercial deployment remains stubbornly wide, and bridging it requires discipline that few anticipated.

Why It Matters

The European Union's climate targets demand a fundamental restructuring of baseload electricity generation. With the European Commission's 2024 Strategic Energy Technology Plan explicitly recognizing nuclear as essential for achieving net-zero by 2050, SMRs and Generation IV reactors have moved from theoretical alternatives to procurement priorities. The International Energy Agency's 2025 Nuclear Energy Report projects that Europe will require between 50 and 100 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050 to meet decarbonization goals while maintaining grid stability.

The urgency is compounded by energy security imperatives. Following the disruptions of 2022-2023, European policymakers have prioritized domestically-sourced baseload generation. France's 2024 announcement of six new EPR2 reactors, coupled with Poland's commitment to deploy SMRs by 2033 and Romania's CANDU-based expansion, signals a continental shift toward nuclear reinvestment. In 2025 alone, the European Investment Bank allocated €3.8 billion to nuclear-adjacent infrastructure, including grid connections and fuel cycle facilities.

For procurement professionals, this creates both opportunity and risk. The first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects now entering licensing phases will establish precedents for costs, timelines, and contractual structures that shape the next two decades of deployment. Understanding where builders have succeeded—and where they have failed—provides essential intelligence for organizations evaluating nuclear as part of their decarbonization portfolios.

Key Concepts

Additionality refers to the principle that new nuclear capacity must represent genuine additions to clean energy generation rather than displacing existing low-carbon sources. In the EU context, additionality assessments have become critical for accessing sustainable finance instruments under the Taxonomy Regulation. Projects must demonstrate that their output enables retirement of fossil generation or supports incremental electrification demand, with verification typically requiring third-party attestation.

MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) encompasses the protocols for quantifying and validating emissions reductions attributable to nuclear generation. For SMR projects, MRV frameworks extend beyond operational emissions to include lifecycle assessments of construction materials, fuel fabrication, and waste management. The European Commission's 2024 Delegated Act on Nuclear Sustainability established harmonized MRV requirements that apply to projects seeking EU funding or taxonomy-aligned classification.

HVDC (High-Voltage Direct Current) transmission technology enables efficient long-distance electricity transport with lower losses than alternating current systems. For SMR deployments, HVDC interconnections are particularly relevant when siting reactors in locations distant from demand centers—such as repurposing former coal plant sites in eastern Germany or Poland. The EU's 2025 Grid Action Plan prioritizes HVDC corridors that can integrate dispersed nuclear generation into continental electricity markets.

DER (Distributed Energy Resources) integration refers to coordinating nuclear baseload with variable renewable generation and demand-side flexibility. Unlike traditional large reactors designed for constant output, several SMR designs feature load-following capabilities that complement solar and wind intermittency. Practitioners report that grid operators increasingly require DER compatibility assessments as part of connection agreements.

Risk allocation in nuclear procurement involves structuring contracts to distribute financial exposure across developers, utilities, EPC contractors, and public entities. The FOAK challenge intensifies risk allocation negotiations, as historical cost data from large conventional reactors provides limited guidance for modular designs. Practitioners emphasize that risk-sharing mechanisms—including loan guarantees, contracts-for-difference, and milestone-based payments—often determine project viability more than technology selection.

What's Working and What Isn't

What's Working

Harmonized licensing through regulatory cooperation agreements has accelerated design reviews across multiple jurisdictions. The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group's 2024 memorandum establishing mutual recognition procedures for SMR Generic Design Assessments enables developers to leverage reviews completed in one member state when seeking approval elsewhere. EDF's Nuward SMR, for instance, benefited from coordinated pre-licensing engagement between France's ASN, Finland's STUK, and Czech Republic's SÚJB, reducing anticipated review timelines by 18-24 months. Practitioners report that early investment in regulatory dialogue—sometimes beginning five years before formal license applications—generates substantial returns.

Standardized component qualification programs are delivering measurable cost reductions. Rolls-Royce SMR's partnership with the UK's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre established factory-based qualification protocols that pre-validate components before site delivery. This approach has demonstrated 30-35% reductions in on-site inspection requirements compared to traditional nuclear construction. European suppliers including Framatome and Westinghouse have adopted similar methodologies, with Framatome's 2024 announcement of a dedicated SMR component facility in Le Creusot specifically designed for serial production.

Long-term offtake agreements with industrial consumers provide revenue certainty that unlocks project financing. Fortum's 2025 agreement with BASF for dedicated SMR output at a German chemical complex exemplifies this model, with the 15-year contract establishing fixed pricing indexed to inflation rather than wholesale electricity markets. Practitioners note that industrial decarbonization mandates under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism are driving corporate procurement of firm clean electricity, creating natural customer bases for SMR developers.

What Isn't Working

Fragmented supply chain qualification processes continue to impose duplicative costs. Despite regulatory harmonization efforts, each project developer maintains proprietary supplier approval requirements that force manufacturers through multiple qualification cycles for identical components. A Czech precision engineering firm reported completing seven separate qualification audits in 2024 for valve assemblies that meet identical technical specifications, with each audit requiring 200-400 hours of documentation preparation. The Nuclear AMRC's 2025 survey found that 67% of European nuclear suppliers cite qualification burden as their primary growth constraint.

First-of-a-kind cost estimation methodologies consistently underpredict actual expenditures. Analysis of SMR project announcements between 2018 and 2024 reveals average cost escalations of 40-60% between initial projections and current estimates. The NuScale Carbon Free Power Project's termination in late 2023, despite regulatory approval, demonstrated that even licensed designs face commercial viability challenges when FOAK costs substantially exceed competitive thresholds. Practitioners emphasize that NOAK (Nth-of-a-kind) cost projections—often 50-70% below FOAK levels—depend on learning curves that remain unproven for modular nuclear construction.

Workforce development gaps threaten deployment timelines. The European Nuclear Skills Alliance's 2025 assessment identified a shortfall of approximately 15,000 qualified nuclear professionals across the EU, with particular deficits in specialized welding, quality assurance, and project management disciplines. Construction delays at conventional reactor projects in Finland and France traced directly to skilled labor availability, and practitioners warn that concurrent SMR deployments will intensify competition for qualified personnel. Training pipeline investments announced in 2024-2025 will not produce certified workers until 2028-2030 at earliest.

Key Players

Established Leaders

EDF (Électricité de France) operates Europe's largest reactor fleet and leads the Nuward SMR consortium, targeting first concrete by 2030 with designs optimized for European regulatory frameworks and grid requirements.

Rolls-Royce SMR has secured UK government investment of £546 million and established manufacturing partnerships that position it as the leading non-French SMR developer serving European markets, with export agreements under negotiation with Poland and Czech Republic.

Framatome provides fuel assemblies and key components to the majority of European reactors while developing its own SMR component manufacturing capabilities, leveraging its existing nuclear-qualified supply chain.

Westinghouse Electric Company offers the AP1000 design operating in Slovakia and under construction in Poland, alongside eVinci microreactor technology targeting industrial heat applications across the EU.

Rosatom historically dominated Eastern European nuclear supply but faces procurement restrictions under EU sanctions, creating market opportunities for Western developers in traditionally Russian-served markets.

Emerging Startups

Newcleo (London/Turin) is developing lead-cooled fast reactor technology using reprocessed spent fuel, with €400 million raised by 2025 and pilot plant construction planned for France.

Seaborg Technologies (Copenhagen) designs compact molten salt reactors for maritime and industrial applications, targeting modular production at shipyard facilities with first units projected for 2028.

Transmutex (Geneva) develops subcritical accelerator-driven systems that transmute nuclear waste while generating power, attracting Swiss government research funding and CERN collaboration.

Copenhagen Atomics pursues mass-manufacturable thorium molten salt reactors, with testing facilities operational since 2023 and commercial demonstration units planned for early 2030s.

Jimmy Energy (Paris) focuses on SMR project development services, aggregating industrial demand and structuring financing packages to accelerate deployment rather than designing proprietary reactor technology.

Key Investors & Funders

European Investment Bank allocated €3.8 billion to nuclear-supportive infrastructure in 2025 following revised lending guidelines that recognize nuclear's role in energy transition.

Euratom Supply Agency provides fuel supply security guarantees and coordinates strategic reserve mechanisms that reduce inventory financing costs for SMR operators.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures maintains investments in multiple advanced nuclear companies, with particular emphasis on Gen IV designs capable of waste transmutation and process heat applications.

Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment committed PLN 60 billion (~€14 billion) through 2040 for nuclear capacity, establishing the largest Eastern European public funding commitment for new nuclear.

France's Plan France 2030 dedicates €1 billion specifically to SMR development, including Nuward industrialization and advanced reactor research programs.

Examples

Romania's NuScale Agreement at Doicești: In 2024, RoPower Nuclear secured regulatory approval to begin site characterization for a six-module NuScale plant at the former Doicești coal site. The project demonstrates brownfield nuclear deployment, utilizing existing grid connections rated for 462 MW while creating 2,800 construction jobs in a region facing coal transition challenges. Financing structures include Romanian government loan guarantees covering 70% of FOAK costs alongside EU Just Transition Fund contributions for workforce retraining.
France-Czech Nuward Cooperation Framework: The 2025 bilateral agreement between France and Czech Republic establishes a joint licensing pathway for Nuward SMR deployment at the Temelín site. Under this framework, Czech regulator SÚJB will accept French ASN design certification with supplementary site-specific reviews, targeting a 36-month combined licensing timeline versus the 60-month sequential process previously anticipated. The framework explicitly addresses supply chain localization, requiring 40% Czech-manufactured component content.
Fortum-BASF Industrial Decarbonization Partnership: Finland's Fortum and German chemical giant BASF signed Europe's largest SMR industrial offtake agreement in early 2025, covering 300 MW of dedicated nuclear capacity for BASF's Ludwigshafen complex. The contract structure includes take-or-pay provisions at €85/MWh with CPI escalation, construction cost-sharing mechanisms, and joint fuel procurement arrangements. BASF's commitment reflects industrial sector recognition that grid-supplied renewable electricity cannot reliably meet 24/7 chemical production requirements.

Action Checklist

FAQ

Q: How do FOAK costs for SMRs compare to conventional large reactors, and what drives the difference? A: Current FOAK SMR cost estimates range from €6,000-10,000 per kW installed, compared to €5,000-7,000/kW for recent European large reactor projects. The premium reflects several factors: smaller per-unit output spreads fixed licensing and development costs across less generation capacity; factory fabrication investments have not yet achieved scale economies; and first projects bear engineering resolution costs for novel designs. Practitioners expect NOAK costs to decline to €3,500-5,000/kW as serial production matures, but this requires completing 5-10 units to validate learning curves.

Q: What licensing timeline should procurement teams anticipate for SMR projects in the EU? A: Design certification typically requires 4-6 years from initial submission through approval, with site-specific licensing adding 2-3 additional years. However, regulatory cooperation agreements can reduce combined timelines to 5-7 years when designs undergo coordinated review. Teams should budget 6-12 months of pre-engagement before formal applications and anticipate that first-mover projects face longer reviews than subsequent deployments using approved designs.

Q: How are EU member states addressing supply chain localization requirements for SMR deployment? A: Most procurement frameworks include local content provisions ranging from 25-50% of total project value, typically phased to allow higher import shares during FOAK construction with increasing domestic requirements for subsequent units. Poland's nuclear program requires 40% local content by the third unit, while France's Nuward industrialization plan mandates 70% domestic manufacturing for export-eligible components. Supply chain readiness assessments should identify which components require localized capability development versus international sourcing.

Q: What risk allocation models have proven effective for FOAK nuclear projects? A: Successful FOAK projects typically feature three-party risk sharing: developers accept technology performance risk; utilities or industrial offtakers provide revenue certainty through long-term contracts; and public entities offer construction cost backstops through loan guarantees or regulated asset base mechanisms. The UK's Regulated Asset Base model for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C demonstrates one approach, while Poland's government loan guarantee program represents another. Pure merchant risk exposure has proven untenable for FOAK nuclear investment.

Q: How do SMRs integrate with variable renewable generation in European grid systems? A: Several SMR designs—including Nuward and Rolls-Royce SMR—incorporate load-following capabilities allowing output modulation between 50-100% of rated capacity within 30-60 minutes. This enables complementary operation with solar and wind, reducing curtailment and providing dispatchable backup. Grid operators increasingly require DER compatibility studies demonstrating that proposed nuclear additions enhance rather than constrain renewable integration. Some advanced designs also offer cogeneration modes producing industrial heat alongside electricity.

Sources

International Energy Agency (2025). Nuclear Energy in Clean Energy Transitions. Paris: IEA Publications.
European Commission (2024). Delegated Regulation on Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Technical Screening Criteria for Nuclear Activities. Official Journal of the European Union.
European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (2024). Framework for Cooperation on SMR Design Assessment. ENSREG Technical Document.
Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (2025). European Nuclear Supply Chain Readiness Assessment. Sheffield: Nuclear AMRC.
European Nuclear Skills Alliance (2025). Skills Needs Analysis for Nuclear New Build in Europe. Brussels: Nucleareurope.
World Nuclear Association (2025). Small Modular Reactor Progress Report. London: WNA.