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Paper short abstract

This study juxtaposes the European SMR umbrella promise with situated SMR promises in Czechia. It combines document analysis of EU-level promissory discourses with interviews with Czech SMR advocates to explore how these promises are locally (re)articulated, and with what performative effects.

Paper long abstract

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are widely promoted as a paradigm shift, promising lower capital costs, greater flexibility, enhanced safety, and improved public acceptance. Although only a handful are operational, public and private interest has grown rapidly, with more than 90 projects at various stages of development worldwide (NEA, 2025). In Europe, SMRs have received increasing policy support from the European Commission, notably with the launch of the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs in 2024. Yet member states diverge in their engagement with these technologies: while some, such as Finland, have expressed clear ambitions to deploy SMRs, others remain more cautious.

Drawing on the sociology of expectations and the literature on technoscientific promises (Borup et al., 2006; Van Lente, 2012; Joly, 2010), this research examines the SMR “umbrella promise” (Parandian et al., 2019) at the European level and tries to account for its performative impact in a member state with strong commitment to SMRs : the Czech Republic.

We first describe this umbrella promise through a thematic analysis of grey literature produced by actors involved in formulating SMR promissory discourses at the European level (e.g., Euratom, SNETP). The umbrella promise then juxtaposed with a thematic analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with SMR vendors, nuclear research institutions, and utilities (UJV Řež and ČEZ) in the Czech Republic, complemented by grey literature published by these actors.

Combined with a socio-historical approach, we uncover how the European SMR umbrella promise is locally (re)articulated by promise-makers in Czechia, and with what performative impact.