The “European Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) Stakeholders’ Forum” took place the 26 October 2023 in Brussels as the last step in the process of public scrutiny and validation of the results of the EU SMR pre-Partnership work. The pre-Partnership collaboration between the different stakeholders resulted in the publication of reports from all five pre-Partnership Workstreams in July 2023 and a stakeholders’ consultation from 17 July to 29 September 2023. This Forum was well attended by around 100 participants in the room from EU MS, industry, regulators, research organisations, NGOs, plus more than 150 persons following the event online.
ENER DG D. Juul-Jørgensen opened the Forum and was followed by presentations and discussions on the main outcomes of the European SMR pre-Partnership work and the recommendation to launch the EU SMR Partnership in the form of an industrial alliance on SMRs. The discussions showed a broad stakeholder consensus on the potential scope of such an industrial alliance to facilitate start of operations of such projects by early 2030s. They also pointed to issues that will need to be resolved for the success of such projects – in the supply chain, in pre-licensing and licensing processes, financing options, public acceptance, radioactive waste management, safeguards, etc. These topics could form the focal areas of the work of the possible industrial alliance. The Forum provided an opportunity for an open discussion on these topics, including from the perspective of environmental NGOs and regulators.
