European governments are consulting with each other over the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), but must form coalitions to develop a fleet-based approach and unlock cost efficiencies, according to a leading thinktank.

Marina Qvist, programme director of advanced nuclear energy at the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), said there was more European coordination over SMR development than a year ago, but it was being led by technology developers while governments lagged.

The CATF recently released three linked reports which called for Europe to adopt a fleet-based approach constructing an initial 5-8GW of SMRs to unlock cost reductions, while also exploring how financing could help countries achieve this.

“The technology developers, they have kind of run the numbers and they understand that fleet deployment is needed for this technology to succeed. So, they are assembling pipelines across Europe,” said Qvist.