The nuclear power industry can safely take the leap to small modular reactor (SMR) deployment through efficient planning and maintaining investor trust, but human capital needs to be mobilised and the cost spread across more than one reactor project, industry experts said at an event.

“In Estonia, in five years we have got 69% support for nuclear power, according to a study, so we are expecting a positive decision from the Estonian parliament in the next few months”, said Kalev Kallemets, chief executive officer of Estonian SMR project company Fermi Energia at the Reuters event.

“We have got open competition for labour and customers”, he said. “In nuclear energy we need more companies to mobilise the human capital, and investors, but also to educate society, i.e. the customers, about nuclear power.”

“We have a radiation safety regulator, which is the basis for [the creation of] a new nuclear safety regulator in Estonia,” he added. “We want a level playing field with subsidies for renewables.”