In April this year, the call for candidates for the industry alliance for SMRs, established by the European Commission, ended. NCBJ has become a member of this new organisation and will be involved in the work related to AMRs (Advanced Modular Reactors).

The document, in the preparation of which NCBJ representatives also participated, establishing the European Industry Alliance on SMRs, was approved by the European Commission in November 2023. The aim of the alliance is to facilitate and accelerate the development and deployment of the first Small/Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs/AMRs) projects in Europe so that the first reactor is operational as soon as the early 2030s.

A call for candidates for the alliance by the main initiators of this initiative: "nucleareurope" (www.nucleareurope.eu) and the Sustainable Nuclear Technology Development Platform (www.snetp.eu) ran until mid-April. NCBJ's candidature has been accepted and a representative of the Institute will attend the first general assembly of the new organisation on 29-30 May this year in Brussels. NCBJ will be mainly involved in work related to AMR (Advanced Modular Reactors). The strategic goal of the alliance is to commercialise this technology in the second half of the 2030s.

For NCBJ, joining the alliance is prestigious, mainly due to its involvement in the design and construction of the HTGR-POLA research high-temperature reactor. The HTGR is an SMR-type reactor that can achieve a much higher exit coolant temperature (min. 750°C) than water-cooled modular reactors (max. 300°C) and can be used as a steam source in the chemical and fuel industry. In February 2024, the HTGR-POLA reactor was also accepted and listed in the NEA OECD Dashboard as one of the SMR technologies proposed for the market (https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_90816/the-nea-small-modular-reactor-dashboard-second-edition).