Czech ŠKODA JS partners with Calogena on modular reactors for district heating

Plzeň-based ŠKODA JS a.s., part of ČEZ Group, and French company Calogena signed an agreement at the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris to cooperate on the CAL30 small modular reactor project. The CAL30 is a next-generation light-water small modular reactor (SMR) with a thermal output of 30 MW, developed by Calogena. It is designed to supply carbon-free energy to urban district heating networks, supporting their energy transition and decarbonisation, ŠKODA JS spokesperson Karel Samec told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today.

“The agreement concerns the development of a key component for the primary circuit of the CAL30 reactor,” he said.

ŠKODA JS manufactures reactor pressure vessels and their internals for a range of pressurised water reactors across Europe, including most VVER 440 and VVER 1000 reactors, as well as the EPR (European Pressurized Reactor, a new-generation reactor) at the Hinkley Point C power plant under construction in the UK. According to Samec, Calogena is already involved in five projects in France and Finland. In August this year, it announced the launch of studies for the deployment of CAL30 at the CEA research centre in Cadarache, France.

“We are proud to contribute to the development of the CAL30 small modular reactor, which reinforces our commitment to low-carbon energy solutions. We are confident that Calogena’s innovative SMR technology will successfully enter the market and have a significant impact on the decarbonisation of district heating in Europe in the near future,” ŠKODA JS CEO František Krček said.

Calogena CEO Julien Dereux said the partnership strengthens the French company’s ability to provide European customers with a reliable and cost-effective SMR solution that addresses the urgent need for carbon-free urban heating and contributes to the energy transition.

The World Nuclear Exhibition is being held in Paris from 4 to 6 November. “More than 1,000 exhibitors from 80 countries use this international platform for the civil nuclear industry, and it attracts tens of thousands of visitors,” Samec said.

At the end of August, ŠKODA JS signed a memorandum with British company Rolls-Royce SMR Limited on the manufacture and supply of SMRs. “In the future, we would like to supply Rolls-Royce with a wide range of components for the primary circuit of SMRs. Not only for Czech projects, but globally,” Krček said at the time. The Plzeň-based engineering company has been gradually investing in machinery for some time, carrying out preparatory work and qualifying manufacturing processes related specifically to SMRs. It recently expanded its production capacity by 6,000 square metres through the purchase of a former hardening plant building next to its reactor hall at the main ŠKODA site. Together with its facilities in Plzeň’s Bolevec district, this gives it sufficient production capacity.

ŠKODA JS, which employs 1,100 people, increased its operating profit by 16 per cent year on year to CZK 287 million last year. Revenue rose by 20 per cent to CZK 3.92 billion. Exports accounted for almost half of last year’s revenue, mainly to Slovakia and Ukraine. The company wants to take part in the construction of a new unit at Dukovany, for which South Korea’s KHNP is the general contractor. It is also involved in commissioning the fourth unit at Slovakia’s Mochovce nuclear power plant. The Plzeň-based engineering company and other Czech firms have already completed the plant’s third unit.

Calogena is a subsidiary of the Gorgé industrial group, which specialises in high-tech industries. Founded in 2021, Calogena aims to decarbonise district heating networks. To achieve this, it is developing a low-power nuclear reactor that it hopes to begin installing from 2030.