Czech state-controlled utility ČEZ expects the deployment of a new large-scale commercial nuclear reactor unit at its existing Dukovany site in 2036 at the earliest with the goal of meeting projections for growing low-carbon electricity demand.

Martin Uhlir, director for new-build preparation and implementation at Elektrarna Dukovany II, a ČEZ subsidiary responsible for the project, told a conference that plans to build up to two new units at Dukovany have “strong political support” in Prague.

Uhlir told the Nuclear Seminars and Information Meetings (Nusim) 2023 at the Mochovce nuclear station in neighbouring Slovakia that demand for electricity in the Czech Republic and the region will increase significantly into the 2040s because of the decarbonisation, electrification of the transport and heating sectors and a projected expansion of green hydrogen production.