SMRs are thought to be cheaper and safer than conventional nuclear reactors. /AP/Keith Ridler
The Baltic state of Estonia could develop its first nuclear plant as it aims to end reliance on burning oil to generate electricity.
Fermi Energia is developing plans for a small modular reactor (SMR), which would be one of the first in Europe.
The European Union member state of just 1.3 million people on the Baltic Sea has for decades generated most of its energy from burning oil shale.
"Estonia has set an ambitious goal to end electricity production from oil shale by 2035," Fermi CEO Kalev Kallemets told Reuters. "The reactor would solve this challenge for Estonia and is relevant for the wider region."
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The development will require government support, which Fermi is aiming to get by late 2021. The planning process for the SMR – which includes environmental, societal, economic and national security reviews – is expected to take up to five years.
"This matches the time frame of technology development as small modular reactor technology is expected to become available for deployment by 2028," Kallemets said.
Fermi could then start construction in 2030 and the plant would be producing electricity in 2035, he said.
The company has so far raised 560,000 euros ($673,722) from private investors and U.S. venture capital fund Last Energy. On Monday, the firm said it seeks to raise 1 million euros through crowdfunding platform Funderbeam.
Cheaper than nuclear reactors, SMRs are increasingly becoming an attractive proposal to European countries trying to meet their carbon-neutral energy demands.
What are small modular reactors?
SMRs are still in development but are already being cited as an alternative to larger, multi-gigawatt power stations and more expensive conventional nuclear power plants.
SMRs are a class of nuclear fission reactor, which can be manufactured at a plant and brought to a site to be assembled, allowing for a safer and cheaper construction process. They can range from scaled-down nuclear reactors to so-called generation IV designs, including molten salt and gas-cooled reactors.
An impediment to SMRs' commercial success has been developers contending with out-of-date regulations, which can suffocate the new technology long before it arrives to market.
"There are always these nagging questions [about regulation] and one of the things that we push for is that regulation and licensing requirements have to change for the small reactors, otherwise you're going to burden them with so much cost, they're going to be economically unviable," Bill Fox, the executive vice-president of nuclear at SNC-Lavalin, told Reuters.
In an effort to alleviate regulatory problems, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has created an SMR Regulator's Forum, involving experts from many of those countries that have SMR sites in development.
The logo of the IAEA, which is attempting to update regulations to deal with SMRs. /AP/Ronald Zak
What are the benefits of SMRs?
Canada, China, the U.S., Poland and the UK, as well as Estonia, are exploring SMR projects.
The UK-based firm Shearwater Energy is exploring building a wind-SMR and hydrogen production hybrid-energy project in North Wales. The firm says it can build the plant for 40 percent less than a conventional nuclear plant and produce carbon-neutral power by 2027.
"SMRs tick a lot of boxes," Giorgio Locatelli, chair of project business strategy at the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds, told Reuters.
"If you're building a wind farm, you'll have access to several sources of financing, such as from pension funds, as it's perceived as a low-risk investment. But, when you build a nuclear FOAK, many people and organizations involved don't have experience with it and they have to learn. The main contractor needs to develop capabilities, its suppliers need to develop capabilities, their workers need to develop capabilities," he says.
SMRs help to make this risk more manageable by working with smaller units.
"If it's a 2 billion pounds [$2.7 billion] plant, and it is 100 percent over budget, you must find 2 billion extra. Compare that with what happens if you go over budget on a 10 billion plant," Locatelli says.
"You can develop capabilities, which include making mistakes and a rework, on a much smaller project."