Czech power utility ČEZ has selected US-based Amentum to support its new nuclear programme by advancing plans for two small modular reactors (SMRs). Amentum’s Brno-based nuclear and project management specialists will deliver environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports relating to proposals for Rolls-Royce SMRs on sites at the Temelín NPP and Tušimice, a coal-fired power station awaiting decommissioning.
Amentum’s team carried out initial scoping studies for the two sites and won the contract to complete the full reports following a public tender. The EIAs will cover potential radiological hazards, waste management, accident conditions and consequences, measures to prevent groundwater and river contamination, transport, noise and dispersion. The completed EIA reports will be subject to a public hearing and independent assessment before they can be formally approved by the Czech Ministry of the Environment.
“Our objective is to help ČEZ and Rolls-Royce take a huge step along the critical path towards demonstrating the effectiveness of SMRs for decarbonising electricity production,” said Andy White, Senior Vice President of Amentum Energy & Environment International.
In March, ČEZ became a shareholder in UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR. The gradual takeover of a one-fifth share of the company has been approved by regulators. The companies will cooperate in the development SMRs. Rolls-Royce SMR was selected in September 2024 as the preferred supplier for the development and construction of a number of SMRs by the Czech government from a shortlist of seven companies. The first SMR is expected to be built in the first half of the 2030s at the Temelín NPP.
The agreement on strategic cooperation, which also provided for the purchase of about 20% of Rolls-Royce SMR, was signed in October 2024. In the longer term, ČEZ plans to build SMRs with a total output of 3 GWe by 2050. These should be used primarily for heat supply and should be sited in the territory of current coal-fired power plants, for example in Prunéřov or Dětmarovice.
The Czech SMR roadmap was published and approved in November 2023, setting out options for technology suppliers and identifying a range of potential sites – 45 in total – as well as investor models. Its vision is for “SMRs to complement large nuclear units from 2030s-40s onwards”.
The Rolls-Royce SMR design is a three-loop pressurised water reactor with an output of 470 MWe derived from 1,358 MWt. The Rolls-Royce SMR concept is centred on modularisation of reliable and proven technology, allowing maximum use of the factory environment to combine standard components with advanced manufacturing techniques. The factory-built modularisation approach is expected to drastically reduce the amount of on-site construction while its compact footprint and modular design means it can be located alongside energy intensive industrial processes.
Currently the four VVER-440 units at the Dukovany NPP and the two VVER-1000 units in operation at Temelín NPP provide about a third of The Czech Republic’s electricity In July 2024, a South Korean consortium led by the state-run KHNP was selected as the preferred bidder for the construction of up to four new NPP units at the Dukovany and Temelín sites, with two reactors (units 5&6) confirmed for Dukovany. The Czech Republic and KHNP plan to finalise the contract in 2025, aiming for the completion of the first reactor by 2036.
