Czech utility ČEZ has signed a preparatory agreement with Rolls-Royce SMR to move ahead with plans for the first small modular reactor in the Czech Republic, according to a report by AP News. The work covers the project plan and licensing documentation needed to secure building permits for the unit, which ČEZ says it wants approved by 2030.
The proposed reactor would be built at the Temelín nuclear site, alongside the country’s existing nuclear fleet. ČEZ chief executive Daniel Beneš said the Czech project would follow the first Rolls-Royce SMR plant in the UK, where the British government’s nuclear agency, Great British Energy – Nuclear, signed a contract with the company on 13 April to begin design work for its first SMRs.
ČEZ already holds a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR, and the two companies previously agreed a strategic partnership that could lead to as much as 3 GW of nuclear capacity in the Czech Republic. The deal also fits into a wider national push to increase state control over ČEZ, in which the Czech state already owns almost 70%.
Small modular reactors are designed to deliver less power than conventional large reactors, but developers argue they can be built faster, with lower upfront costs and more flexibility in where they are deployed. For the Czech Republic, the Temelín project would be a test case for whether that promise can translate into a commercial nuclear build‑out in central Europe.
