nucleareurope participates in OECD NEA press conference on SMRs dashboard

On 16 July 2025, nucleareurope Director General Emmanuel Brutin participated in an online press conference organised by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) to launch their Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Digital Dashboard. As part of the event, Emmanuel gave introductory remarks on developments relating to the nuclear sector, and specifically to SMRs, in Europe.

In his remarks, Emmanuel stressed that nuclear is set to keep playing a major role in the European energy system, with the European Commission’s Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC) estimating installed nuclear capacity to reach over 140GW by 2050. He added that within this capacity, SMRs are expected to provide between 17 and 53GW.

“Small Modular Reactor technologies are extremely promising, and will be essential for the EU, with the potential to provide decarbonised electricity, but also heat for energy intensive industries or for district heating purposes” highlighted Emmanuel, adding that SMRs also provide solutions to replace coal based capacity, or to support clean hydrogen production.

Emmanuel concluded his intervention by noting recent policy developments at EU level, such as the creation of the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs , which will hold its next General Assembly in September. He highlighted the important role played by the Alliance in fostering innovation to reach the objective of deploying the first SMRs in the EU in the 2030s.