Though most existing and planned nuclear power plants are large and light water-cooled units, small modular reactors (SMRs) represent a complementary solution to such power plants. SMRs could also contribute to the decarbonisation of hard to decarbonise sectors such as transport, chemical and steel industry, and district heating.
The Commission’s priority is that these new designs under development are used only with the highest standards of safety, radiation protection for workers and citizens, responsible management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, and a reliable non-proliferation regime, which ensures that nuclear material is not diverted from its intended use.
Benefits and challenges
SMRs have several potential benefits, ranging from improved safety features, such as passive safety systems, better financing options due to reduced 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 old coal power plants and complementing, as well as facilitating, the increasing share of renewable energy. SMRs also 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 still exist in validating the business case for SMRs, assuring predictable and streamlined licensing processes and frameworks, developing global supply chains to ensure profitability, identifying suitable nuclear sites and achieving transparent dialogue between the concerned stakeholders.
EU leadership and strategic independence for SMRs
- First half of 2026
SMRs strategy due to be published
- 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
SMRs strategy
The SMRs strategy is due to be published by the Commission in the first half of 2026. It will seek to accelerate the development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors in Europe over the next decade.
To help shape the strategy, a 4-week call for evidence was launched by the Commission running between 6 November and 4 December 2025.
SMRs Stakeholder’s Forum
The first SMRs Stakeholder’s Forum, taking place on 27 January 2026, is part of the broader public consultation exercise on the upcoming SMR Strategy.
The event is part of the SMR Alliance’s activities but addresses primarily organisations and experts who are not members of the Alliance.
European SMR Industrial 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 in multiple areas simultaneously, starting immediately by
- creating a strong market demand and business cases for SMRs to attract investments
- eliminating investment barriers and providing suitable supporting financing schemes
- developing a robust and scalable European supply chain fostered by a dynamic ecosystem of well-established firms, innovative SMEs, and specialised start-ups
- bolstering EU R&D leadership and maintaining key stakeholders’ commitment to continuous research and innovation
- equipping the European workforce with the right skills and competencies to drive innovation and excellence
- fostering public engagement to build trust and legitimacy for SMR projects
- implementing safety, security, safeguards, and sustainability as key priorities in the SMR sector
- securing a robust fuel cycle approach focusing on domestic capabilities, waste minimisation, and circularity
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 and it received 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.
Research and training on SMRs
The Commission has also 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.
Work Programme 2026-2027 is expecting the allocation of an additional €15 million for research on the Safety of LW-SMRs and AMRs.
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 together with the OECD, and launched the NEA SMR Dashboard to have stock of readiness level for the different SMRs designs.
- The US have launched Project PHOENIX for the Conversion of Coal fired power plants to Small Modular Reactor, not only in the US, but world-wide.
- 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 arms-length body set up to help deliver that extra capacity, began the selection process for which SMR technology to use.
- China, Korea, Japan, the U.S and Russia are at the forefront of nuclear technology and are focusing their efforts on SMRs development and deployment.
Documents
- European Industrial Alliance on SMRs Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029
- 2nd General Assembly of the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs conclusions
- European SMRs Industrial Alliance - First batch of PWGs
Related links
- Small Modular Reactors explained
- European Industrial Alliance on SMRs
- Declaration on EU Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) 2030: Research & Innovation, Education & Training (April 2023)
- Conclusions from the second high-level nuclear roundtable (15 March 2022)
- First EU Workshop on Small Modular Reactors (29 June 2021)
- EU-US high-level forum on small modular reactors (21 October 2019)
- Small modular reactors (Joint Research Centre)
- The SMR Platform and Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI), IAEA
- The NEA Small Modular Reactor Dashboard, NEA, OECD
- European SMR pre-Partnership, nucleareurope