Romania expects to make a preliminary investment decision next year on whether to build a small modular reactor plant, which could become Europe’s first project using the technology, its energy minister said on Monday.

State-owned nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica said in 2021 it will partner with US company NuScale Power to build SMR reactors by 2029 as part of its efforts to boost low-emission power sources.

Romania has chosen a former coal plant site at Doicesti in central Romania for the deployment of a 462-MW Voygr-6 SMR plant.