Czech state signs security agreement with ČEZ on small and medium modular reactors

The state has signed a security agreement with ČEZ on the development of small and medium modular reactors. The agreement is intended to protect the state’s security interests when selecting a future partner to develop and build such reactors in Czechia. For example, ČEZ will inform the state about its choice of supplier. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) announced this today. The partly state-owned ČEZ plans to build its first modular reactor at Temelín; it is expected to be completed in the first half of the next decade.

According to the ministry, the agreement guarantees that the state’s security interests will be protected, as they are in the construction of large nuclear power plants. One of ČEZ’s obligations will be to provide the state with information about its selection of a modular reactor supplier and to allow the state to protect its security interests through what is known as a security requirement.

“Small and medium reactors can be an integral part of the Czech Republic’s future energy mix. They can provide households and businesses with not only electricity but also heat, and could therefore replace ageing coal-fired facilities,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN).

The minister added that building modular reactors also represents a major opportunity for the Czech economy. “There are opportunities to manufacture nuclear equipment and to participate significantly in the supply chain, as with large units. The agreement we have signed with ČEZ will ensure that the state’s security interests are upheld in their development,” Síkela noted.

ČEZ is preparing its first modular reactor near the South Bohemian Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. According to previous information, the company wants to select a supplier by the end of this year. It is currently in talks with Westinghouse, EDF, GE Hitachi and Rolls-Royce. ČEZ is also planning further modular reactors at other sites, where they are among the options being considered to replace coal-fired power plants. It is currently assessing, for example, sites at the Dětmarovice and Tušimice power plants.

Modular reactors can be mass-produced in factories, with multiple units gradually assembled at a single site. According to nuclear energy experts, they differ from large nuclear units mainly in their lower capacity and faster, simpler construction. Their operation, by contrast, could be similar. Experts say they are well suited to replacing today’s coal-fired power plants. The cost of construction is not yet known.