French energy group EDF is looking for investors and industrial partners for Nuward, its small modular reactor unit, by the end of this year. The move comes after the company shelved the original Nuward design as too expensive, while continuing work on a more advanced version.
No small modular reactor has entered mass production yet, but dozens of companies are trying to bring the technology to market. Supporters argue that smaller units could become a more flexible and cheaper source of low-carbon power than conventional nuclear plants.
State-owned EDF, which generates around 70 percent of France’s electricity with a fleet of 57 reactors, decided to scrap its first Nuward concept after concluding it was too costly. Instead of ending the programme, the utility has kept refining the design and is now preparing a fundraising round.
– The financing strategy is intended to bring together European customers and industrial partners to help develop an initial series of reactors tailored to their needs – an EDF spokesman told Reuters.
From shelved concept to 2029 target
Late in 2025, EDF announced that the conceptual design of the reactor should be completed by the end of 2026, with an ambition to launch 30 small reactors by 2050. The original Nuward concept was designed to generate 400 megawatts of electricity and 115 megawatts of heat, which would make it suitable for providing stable baseload power to industrial customers.
Under the earlier schedule, the first prototype was to start up in 2035. EDF then planned to build one reactor a year until four units had been completed in two countries. According to the Financial Times, the French company now wants the first commercial Nuward SMR to enter service from 2029, although it has not disclosed the valuation of Nuward or the amount it aims to raise.
Global competition and the Polish link
EDF is not alone in racing towards SMR commercialization. At the March World Nuclear Energy Summit, China announced plans to begin commercial SMR production by the end of this year, which would put it ahead of Western rivals.
In the West, Canada is the most advanced market. A first BWRX-300 unit, developed by GE Vernova Hitachi, is under construction in Ontario, with commissioning expected by the end of the decade. The same design serves as a reference project for the Polish SMR programme run by Orlen Synthos Green Energy.
For Poland, the timeline is likely to be several years later than Canada, assuming the plans of the nuclear company controlled by Orlen and Synthos proceed as intended.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. olrat / Shutterstock
