Industry ministry to sign memorandum with ČEZ on modular reactor development in Czech Republic

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) will today sign a memorandum with energy company ČEZ on cooperation in the development of modular reactors in the Czech Republic. The facilities are expected to become an important part of the domestic energy mix in the future. At the same time, ČEZ representatives are expected to conclude agreements today with British company Rolls-Royce SMR to carry out preparatory work, with which it is already developing modular reactors.

The government approved the state’s memorandum with ČEZ on Monday. According to ČEZ, the memorandum’s main content will be an agreement that ČEZ will fulfil the state’s objectives for the further development of modular reactors in the Czech Republic. “This confirms that we are beginning their preparation,” Industry Minister Karel Havlíček (ANO) said of the memorandum on Monday, describing it as another step towards improving the Czech Republic’s energy security.

ČEZ is cooperating with Rolls-Royce SMR on the development. The Czech company completed its equity investment in the British firm last year and now holds a stake of around one-fifth. It paid around six billion crowns for it. The companies are working together on preparations for the construction of up to three modular reactors in the UK, in which ČEZ could participate as a supplier of certain technologies. They are then expected to cooperate on reactors in the Czech Republic as well.

ČEZ plans to build modular reactors with a combined capacity of three gigawatts by 2050. The existing Dukovany and Temelín power plants each have a capacity of around two gigawatts. According to the group, the price of a modular reactor should be similar to that of large units, while proportionately reflecting the modular reactor’s lower output. The first such reactor is expected to be built next to Temelín around the middle of the 2030s.