Though most existing and planned nuclear power plants are large-size light-water-cooled units, small modular reactors (SMRs) represent a complementary solution.
SMRs are innovative nuclear technologies designed to be smaller in size and output than conventional nuclear reactors. Their modular design means that reactors and their components can be manufactured in a factory and transported to a site either for direct use or for assembly. Advanced modular reactors (AMRs) integrate further significant technological innovations for enhanced nuclear safety and sustainability.
The Commission’s priority is to ensure that these new designs under development adhere to the highest safety standards. This includes radiation protection for workers and citizens, responsible management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, and a reliable non-proliferation regime, put in place so that nuclear material is not diverted from its intended use.
EU’s SMR strategy
The EU’s SMR strategy (COM/2026/117) was adopted in March 2026 to accelerate the development and deployment of small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors (AMRs) in Europe.
These innovative technologies can help deliver reliable, homegrown clean energy, strengthening industrial capacity while reinforcing energy security and competitiveness. They can also supply reliable power for emerging high-demand users, such as data centres.
With effective coordination, SMRs could mobilise entire value chains across EU countries and sectors, potentially becoming one of Europe’s next major industrial development initiatives. To realise their potential, the strategy outlines 9 actions aimed at ensuring that the first SMR projects become operational in Europe by the early 2030s. Preliminary assessments estimate that total SMR capacity in the EU could reach between 17 GW and 53 GW by 2050.
It calls for a coordinated approach, consolidating efforts across EU countries, industry, nuclear safety authorities, and investors to avoid fragmentation and maximise synergies, thereby accelerating market readiness. Alongside interested EU countries, the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs will be essential in driving implementation.
Implementation and Stakeholder Engagement
- March 2026
- January 2026
- September 2025
European Industrial Alliance on small modular reactors adopted its first Strategic Action Plan
- February 2024
European Industrial Alliance on SMRs launched
- April 2023
Declaration on EU small modular reactors signed by the Commission and EU nuclear stakeholders
- June 2021
Commission organised the first-ever EU workshop on small modular reactors
The first SMR Stakeholder’s Forum, which took place on 27 January 2026, was part of the broader public consultation exercise on the upcoming SMR Strategy.
The event was part of the SMR Alliance’s activities, but primarily addressed organisations and experts who are not members of the Alliance.
The European Industrial Alliance on SMRs was launched in February 2024. At the second General Assembly in September 2025, its first Strategic Action Plan was adopted. It provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of the alliance’s planned activities to facilitate its primary goal: to accelerate the development, demonstration and deployment of concrete SMR projects in Europe in the early 2030s.
The Industrial Alliance on SMRs is an inclusive and transparent platform open to all public and private legal entities that meet specific eligibility criteria. A dedicated dissemination event was organised on 22 March 2024 to promote the call for membership, which resulted in more than 300 applications. The first general assembly took place on 29-30 May 2024 to establish the governing board and launch the relevant technical and project-based working groups (PWGs). The first batch of PWGs was published in October 2024.
The Commission has actively supported SMR safety research via the Euratom Research and Training Programme, with an EU contribution of €30 million. These projects for LW-SMRs and AMRs started in the second part of 2022.
The declaration on EU small modular reactors, signed on 4 April 2023 by the Commission and EU nuclear stakeholders, was prepared as a follow-up to a high-level European nuclear roundtable, held in March 2022. It confirmed the EU’s commitment to leading research, innovation, education and training for the safety of European SMRs.
The Work Programme 2026-2027 foresees the allocation of an additional €15 million for research on the Safety of LW-SMRs and AMRs.
Benefits and challenges
SMRs offer several potential benefits, including improved safety features such as passive safety systems, better financing options due to shorter construction schedules, lower investment needs, fewer components, and smaller plant footprints per unit. For EU countries that choose to use nuclear energy, SMRs could also be a promising option for replacing ageing coal power plants while complementing the increasing share of renewable energy. In addition, SMRs provide flexibility as they can be used for district heating, desalination, the generation of process heat for energy-intensive industries, and the production of hydrogen.
At the same time, challenges remain in validating the business case for SMRs, ensuring predictable and streamlined licensing processes and frameworks, developing robust supply chains to ensure profitability, identifying suitable nuclear sites, and achieving transparent dialogue between the concerned stakeholders.
SMRs at international level
The EU and the United States share a rich history of mutually beneficial cooperation on nuclear energy, and an EU-US high-level forum on SMRs was organised in Brussels in 2019 to examine the challenges and opportunities associated with using SMR technologies as part of the future energy systems.
To ensure coherence and complementarity, the Commission is also maintaining close links with the International Atomic Energy Agency's ‘Nuclear Harmonisation and Standardisation Initiative (NHSI)’ and with other relevant initiatives at the level of the OECD-NEA.
Interest in SMRs is growing at international level in the context of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
- At COP28 in December 2023, many organisations and countries signed up to the nuclear pledge.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has launched the SMR Platform and Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative and the Technical Working Group on Small and Medium Sized or Modular Reactors. In its 2022 report Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments, the IAEA counts more than 80 SMR designs currently under development.
- The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has established an Experts Group on SMRs and launched the NEA SMR Dashboard to take stock of the readiness levels of different SMR designs.
- The US has launched Project PHOENIX for the conversion of coal-fired power plants to small modular reactors, not only in the US but worldwide.
- The UK plans to expand its nuclear energy capacity by 2050, with a fleet of SMRs as a key part of that strategy. Great British Nuclear (GBN), an arm’s-length body set up to help deliver that additional capacity, has begun the selection process for SMR technology.
- China, Korea, Japan, the U.S., and Russia are at the forefront of nuclear technology and are focusing their efforts on SMR development and deployment.
- News: Commission unveils strategy to bring Europe’s first SMRs online by the early 2030s (10/3/2026)
- News: Commission invites views to shape its Small Modular Reactor Strategy (10/11/2025)
- News: European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors Unveils Strategic Action Plan (12/9/2025)
- News: Commission to ally with industry on Small Modular Reactors (9/2/2024)
- SMR Strategy (COM/2026/117)
- Small modular reactors explained
- European Industrial Alliance on SMRs (DG Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
- Small modular reactors (Joint Research Centre)
- European SMR pre-Partnership, nucleareurope