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Paper short abstract

This paper traces the trajectories of the technoscientific promise of small modular reactors (SMRs) in four Western countries since 2000. It highlights the turning points, reconfigurations, country-specificities, and the many functions of the SMR promise for the nuclear community and its detractors.

Paper long abstract

Marketed as a cheaper, safer, and faster-to-build alternative to the large and recently so problematic nuclear power plant megaprojects, small modular reactors (SMRs) represent the latest among the technoscientific promises of the nuclear sector. However, SMRs still remain largely a promise, with over a hundred of reactor designs under planning or development, but none yet proven commercially. Relying on the STS concepts of technoscientific promise and “sociological ballistics”, this paper takes stock of the evolution of the promise of SMRs in four countries actively promoting the adoption and construction of SMRs: Canada, Finland, France, and the UK. It analyses discourses and activities of both promise-constructors and their contestants, focusing on three key themes: 1) The diverse country-specific origins of the SMR promise; 2) key turning points, and reconfiguration of the promise – triggered either by external shocks and pressures or by factors internal to the construction of the promise; and 3) the main actors and actor networks promoting or seeking to undermine the SMR promise. The Prospéro socioinformatic toolkit was used for the examination of large press media corpora, to explore the interaction between the discursive, institutional, and material elements of the SMR promise. Complementary material consisted of policy documents, expert and key actor interviews, and participant observation. The conclusions highlight the historical foundations and reconfigurations of the promise; the role of SMR promise as a “survival strategy” for the nuclear sector; and the benefits and downsides of the vagueness and fluidity of the SMR promise.