The Small Modular Reactors (SMR)

By more specifically targeting the market to directly supply energy to industrial customers , the new reactor designers are moving away from the traditional model by developing reactors 10 to 400 times less powerful than the EPR reactor at Flamanville, hence their term "small" reactors.

The thermal power of the SMRs currently monitored by ASN range from 10 to 540 MWth.

This significant power reduction also implies a radical adaptation of the development business model for these small reactors, on the one hand by seeking to reduce construction times and, on the other, by relying on standardisation and mass production. This new industrial model with mass production involving a large share of prefabrication in the factory is why these small reactors are referred to as “modular”.

The objective of decarbonising energy production promote the development of systems with low greenhouse gas emissions.  In this context, the possible uses of nuclear energy are as follows:

Extending or replacing existing nuclear power plants

Projects such as the Flamanville EPR are underway to supply large quantities of electricity to the national grid. These facilities supply between 900 and 1,450 MWe of electrical energy (i.e. between 2,700 and 5,800 MWth).

Replacing fossil-fired power stations

SMRs could replace existing coal-, gas- or oil-fired power stations, in addition to existing nuclear power, depending on the markets targeted.

Local supply of electricity or heat

The production of energy for sectors that are difficult to decarbonise (industrial heat or district heating), the desalination of seawater, the production of green hydrogen and the supply of heat and electricity to energy-intensive industries are all driving the emergence of new energy production systems such as SMRs.

Development of systems for isolated sites

Transportable by lorry, train, boat or plane, SMRs also open up new prospects for supplying electricity or heat to isolated sites not connected to the electricity grid.

The SMR projects currently under study in France can be divided into two categories according to their degree of technological maturity:

Light-water reactors (LWR):

These reactor types make up the vast majority of reactors currently in operation around the world.

Generation IV reactors:

These reactor technologies, already known and explored for many years now, had so far only led to the development of a few experimental or prototype reactors, with no industrial scale operation.

The differences in the maturity of the various technologies notably means that some projects are beginning with an experimental reactor development phase before envisaging the development of an industrial prototype.

In March 2022, the French Government launched a call for project proposals for innovative nuclear reactors, aiming to create a new ecosystem of nuclear start-ups, in addition to the existing historical French large nuclear companies.

This call for project proposals is part of the France 2030 Plan to decarbonise the economy, in particular aiming to develop new nuclear reactor concepts which:

• in addition to producing electricity, will also meet the need for the production of heat with temperatures of several hundred degrees, offering an alternative to the use of gas for a large number of industrial processes;
• can help close the “nuclear fuel cycle” and improve radioactive waste management, by helping to reduce its volume or its activity.

This was the context in which about ten new companies sponsoring SMR projects appeared in 2022 and 2023.

Their business model is based on three pillars:

The development of these modular reactor projects is dependent on the availability of the fuel they need in order to operate. This availability refers not only to the existence of industrial production means for the fuels, but also the production capacity.  Fuels envisaged for the SMRs depend on the reactor technology: