Czech state-run power group ČEZ, already considering ambitious plans for new large-scale nuclear reactors, is planning to begin operation of its first small modular nuclear reactor in a decade followed by another two units by 2040.

“The first one will be launched around 2032 and the other two in the second half of the 2030s,” ČEZ spokesman Ladislav Kriz said.

The first SMR will be built at Temelín, one of ČEZ’s two existing commercial nuclear power station sites.

ČEZ plans to build the next two at its current coal-fired power plants in a bid to switch from fossil fuels to greener technologies.

The company has already signed agreements to explore various SMR technology options with reactor developers NuScale, GE Hitachi, Rolls-Royce and Holtec.