Rolls Royce SMR Sells Stake to Czech Republic

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)-- Rolls-Royce SMR (London, England) has sold a 20% stake in its small modular reactor (SMR) company to the Czech Republic's state-owned energy company CEZ Group (Prague).

The move comes just weeks after the company was chosen by the Czech government to spearhead its plan to roll out up to 3 gigawatts of (GW) of new nuclear power using Rolls-Royce's proposed 470-megawatt (MW) design, which is based on a small pressurized water reactor. Both companies said they are finalizing contracts for the order of the first unit with early works expected to commence as soon as 2025. To date, there are no SMRs in commercial operation globally, but a growing number of companies are racing to build the first commercial-scale plants. The Czech government said it has invested "several hundred" million dollars in the venture. For additional information, see Oct 1, 2024, article - Rolls-Royce Lands SMR Deal with Czech Republic.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala said: "Small modular reactors are a huge opportunity for our industry and our energy sector. The strategic partnership between CEZ and Rolls-Royce SMR is the basis for the Czech Republic to be an important player in the field of modular reactors. Our goal is to be among the most successful countries to participate in innovation, development and production on a global scale, and this agreement allows us to do just that. At the same time, our goal is for the Czech Republic to be as energy self-sufficient as possible in the future and for Czechs to be sure that there will be enough energy at affordable prices."

The electricity mix in the Czech Republic relies largely on nuclear power (39%) and coal (39%), with the plan to boost nuclear's share to 50% in the coming decade while phasing out coal between 2035 and 2038. Today, nuclear power is supplied by four Russian-built VVER-440 units at Dukovany and two VVER-1000 units at Temelín. In July, Industrial Info reported that South Korean power major Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company Limited (KHNP) (Seoul) had won the competition to build a new nuclear power plant in the country, beating rivals Electricite de France (EDF) (Paris, France) and Westinghouse Electric Company (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania). To start, KHNP will build one new reactor at the Russian-built Dukovany nuclear power plant. For additional information, see July 29, 2024, article - EDF Loses out to Korea's KHNP for Czech Nuclear Project.

Talking about the future to of SMRs in the energy mix, Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček commented: "The future of our energy self-sufficiency is not only new large nuclear units in Dukovany and Temelín, but we are also betting on the development of small modular reactors. In recent years, we have been working hard to modernize the Czech energy industry - we are developing renewable sources, modernizing transmission and distribution systems, investing in energy savings and we have implemented new energy legislation. Small modular reactors can play a very important role in the form of stable energy sources."

In related news, Rolls-Royce SMR was one of nine proposed SMR projects chosen by the European Commission to form Project Working Groups under the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs. The Alliance was formed to facilitate and coordinate European industry in the development of SMRs to help achieve climate neutrality in Europe by 2050. Other successful bidders included the EU-SMR-LFR project by Italy's Ansaldo Energia (Genova, Italy) and Nuward's (Paris) SMR project at Le Havre in northern France.

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