Europe needs to foster closer collaboration among nuclear safety authorities on early joint design reviews as it seeks to develop and roll out a fleet of advanced small modular reactors by the early 2030a, the bloc’s commissioner for energy and housing Dan Jørgensen has said.

In a keynote speech on 27 January, Jørgensen told the first Stakeholders’ Forum of the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors in Brussels that the EU stands at a turning point and if it wants to become a region of prosperity, opportunity, and independence it needs energy that is “clean and sustainable; secure and reliable; affordable and accessible”.

Jørgensen said that when it comes to nuclear, the potential of small modular reactors (SMRs) cannot be overlooked.

Beyond generating electricity, SMRs offer wide-ranging opportunities: from helping steel and chemical producers to decarbonise, to providing citizens with reliable low-carbon energy for district heating.