Czech SMR project - early works contract signed

The early works contract allows preparation to start of site-specific documentation and materials for the licensing and permitting process, including for the environmental impact assessment and nuclear and construction permitting procedures, and related design work.

The engineering contract - which has been signed following a successful series of geological studies - does not include equipment supplies, "it is therefore not an investment decision or the start of construction", the signatories said.

Under the memorandum of understanding with the ministry, a working group will be established which will, in addition to looking into financing options, facilitate the continuation of intergovernmental cooperation between the Czech Republic and the UK and work on regulatory and legislative support and preparation of conditions for the construction project. 

Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board and CEO of ČEZ, which has a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR, said: "ČEZ's cooperation with Rolls-Royce SMR offers a unique opportunity for growth and prosperity in the field of nuclear energy, also thanks to our participation in the development of the technology. Thanks to the small modular reactor project, the Czech Republic and Czech industry can use and further deepen their traditional nuclear know-how. We are counting on small modular reactors alongside large nuclear power plants and renewable sources … equally important is the memorandum concluded with the state. State support is essential for such a large project, similar to the construction of new nuclear sources in Dukovany."

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček said: "The Czech Republic must build its energy future on stable, safe and emission-free sources that will ensure affordable energy prices and the long-term competitiveness of the industry. Small modular reactors represent a technological opportunity with a European impact and at the same time a chance for Czech companies and research to join the top of the global nuclear industry."

Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce SMR CEO, said: "This important contract unlocks a significant programme of work at the Temelín site, which will be delivered alongside our strategic partner and shareholder, ČEZ … with contractual commitments now in place in both the UK and Czechia, Rolls-Royce SMR becomes the only company with multiple contractual commitments to deliver SMR units in Europe."

Background

The Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years. Ninety percent of the SMR - measuring about 16 metres by 4 metres - will be built in factory conditions, limiting activity on-site primarily to assembly of pre-fabricated, pre-tested, modules which significantly reduces project risk and has the potential to drastically shorten build schedules.

In October 2024, Rolls-Royce SMR was selected by ČEZ to deploy up to 3 GW of electricity in the Czech Republic, and ČEZ took a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR. The plan is for the first SMR to be deployed in the area of the Temelín site (which already has two gigawatt-scale VVER-100 units), with futher projects being developed for coal-fired power plant sites, including Tušimice.

The Czech Republic currently gets about one-third of its electricity from the four VVER-440 units at Dukovany, which began operating between 1985 and 1987, and the two units in operation at Temelín, which came into operation in 2000 and 2002.

The Czech government selected KHNP as its preferred bidder in July 2024 for two new units near the current Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, about 200 kilometres southeast of Prague. The engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Dukovany units was signed in June 2025, for two APR-1000 units at a projected  cost of CZK407 billion (USD18.6 billion). The aim is to start construction in 2029. In addition to the SMR project, two more large units at the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant are also being considered.

In June 2025 Rolls-Royce SMR was selected as the UK government's preferred technology for the country's first SMR project. A final investment decision is expected to be taken in 2029. In November the UK government announced that Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, North Wales, would be the site to host the three Rolls-Royce SMR units. It said the site - where a Magnox plant is being decommissioned - could potentially host up to eight SMRs.