The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors is leading SMR deployment in Europe with the aim of establishing collaboration between industry, NGOs and various stakeholders and setting out an action plan early next year, Yves Desbazeille, director-general of the Brussels-based industry association nucleareurope, told an online event in London.

Desbazeille told a New Nuclear Watch Institute (NNWI) webinar that the alliance, launched earlier this year, wants to create projects of common interest across Europe to benefit from state aid. It aims to formally start work in June 2024 under an action plan with 10 tasks, according to Desbazeille.

The idea is to consider different aspects, including a technical roadmap, and to develop an action plan by the first quarter of 2025, he added.

“European SMRs have been gaining speed since the middle of 2021, enabling the organisation to be created,” Desbazeille said.