John Kerry, the US special presidential climate change envoy, has announced funding as soon as 2029 for the deployment of small modular reactors at coal-fired heat and power generation facilities across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), starting in Romania and the Czech Republic, as part of Project Phoenix.

Poland and Slovakia are also taking part in the project and, although the participating countries are moving forwards with the US-funded feasibility studies at different speeds, the regional programme is creating a momentum for the funding and the deployment of new technology by end of this decade.

“We take the role of nuclear energy in the energy transition very seriously. We are all aware that we cannot achieve zero emissions without it,” said Kerry at a recent Bratislava event dedicated to Project Phoenix.

Project Phoenix, which aims to promote transatlantic cooperation to deploy SMRs in Europe and Eurasia, has introduced Nuclear Expediting the Energy Transition (Next), a virtual facility that will provide countries in Europe and Eurasia with training and advice on deploying SMRs.