ČEZ aims to select supplier for first modular reactor in Czechia by year-end

The semi-state-owned company ČEZ aims to select a supplier for the first nuclear modular reactor in Czechia by the end of this year. It is expected to be located at Temelín, and should be completed in the first half of the 2030s. The company will select the supplier from among three firms. ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš said this at a press conference today. Modular reactors are expected to gradually replace coal-fired power plants.

According to ČEZ, small modular reactors are a suitable future replacement for existing coal-fired power plants and large heating plants. They are not intended to replace large nuclear units, but rather to complement them.

The company expects to build its first modular reactor at the Temelín nuclear power plant site. Under the original plans, it was to be completed in 2032. Beneš did not want to specify an exact year today, but said it should be in the first half of the 2030s.

ČEZ has previously signed memoranda of cooperation on small modular reactors with NuScale, GE Hitachi, Rolls Royce, EdF, Westinghouse, KHNP and Holtec. Beneš said the list has now been narrowed down to three companies, but did not name them.

In addition to the first reactor at Temelín, ČEZ identified two other sites for modular units last year. These are Dětmarovice and Tušimice, where coal-fired power plants are currently in operation. The company is now carrying out exploratory work at these sites.

In addition to the first three sites for small modular reactors, ČEZ is also assessing other locations where it could build these reactors. Preparations are not as advanced at these sites, however. The company is analysing, for example, the areas around the Prunéřov, Ledvice, Mělník and Dukovany power plants. With the exception of Dukovany, these are currently coal-fired power plant sites.

According to nuclear energy experts, small modular reactors differ from large nuclear units mainly in their lower output and faster, simpler construction. Their operation, by contrast, could be similar. Experts say they are suitable for replacing existing coal-fired power plants. The cost of construction is not yet clear.

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