EDF creates a subsidiary dedicated to the accelerated development of a small SMR reactor

The EDF group announced Thursday the creation of a new subsidiary, called Nuward, to develop and export a small SMR modular nuclear reactor whose start of construction in France, the first of the range, is scheduled to take seven years. In France, the government has made the development of these innovative small reactors a priority in its nuclear renaissance, with parallel construction of powerful reactors to complement the existing nuclear fleet with six new EPR2s.

EDF has been working for more than a year on a preliminary project for a small reactor intended to be mass-produced and to position itself in the world race for this new generation of reactors: 70 to 80 projects for SMR reactors (for “small modular reactor” in English) and AMR (“advanced modular reactor”) already coexist, especially in the United States, Canada and Russia.

More than 600 engineers and experts mobilized

100% owned by EDF, the new subsidiary, which wants to “become the European leader in terms of SMR” and will hire 150 employees by 2024, “is now committed to the detailed preliminary project, in line with its objective of starting construction in 2030 for the reference power plant in France,” EDF said in a press release. “In accordance with the nuclear license process in force in France, the safety options file (DOS) will be submitted to the French Nuclear Safety Authority in July 2023,” adds EDF. Since the reference plant location has not yet been chosen, Nuward will be involved in the evaluation and selection of potential sites.

In total, more than 600 engineers and experts should contribute to the development of the new SMR, including within the EDF group and with its partners, such as CEA, TechnicAtome, Naval Group but also Framatome and Tractebel. According to Xavier Ursat, EDF Group Executive Director in charge of Engineering and New Nuclear Projects, quoted in the press release, “Nuward was created to meet our ambition to rapidly develop this technology” and “will be able to develop a ready product on time for its market launch.