Data centres and SMRs are a ‘marriage made in heaven’ says Sandro Baldi of EDF

The rapid expansion of data centres across Europe is creating an urgent demand for reliable, low-carbon electricity — and small modular reactors (SMRs) could be the perfect match.

According to Sandro Baldi, Commercial Director of NUWARD SMR at EDF, the two sectors are naturally aligned.

“Data centres like to have SMRs installed next to them, it’s reliable base load electricity,” Baldi says.

With facilities growing from “a few megawatts to a few hundred megawatt,” the scale of modern data infrastructure fits well with the output of next-generation modular nuclear reactors.

Baldi describes the relationship as “a kind of marriage made in heaven,” although he acknowledges the discrepancy between how quickly data centres are being built and when SMRs will come online.

Despite this, he emphasises that data centres require secure, constant electricity supply and suitable locations with cooling capacity and strong grid connections.

“What data centres are looking for is something very similar to what SMRs are looking for,” Baldi explains, noting that both industries favour sites with strong connectivity and nearby cooling resources.

While SMRs could supply reliable power to the fast-growing digital economy, their role in Europe’s broader energy transition is even wider.

Baldi says nuclear energy is increasingly recognised as an essential tool in achieving the continent’s climate goals.

“Europe agrees that nuclear is part of the solution for net zero target by 2050,” he says.

However, Baldi emphasises that SMRs are not intended to replace traditional nuclear power plants.

“SMRs are a part of the solution that also includes large scale reactor,” Baldi notes.

Large reactors remain the most efficient option for well-connected national grids, while SMRs are designed to serve markets and applications where smaller, flexible power sources are more suitable.

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One such opportunity lies in industrial clusters, suggests Baldi. This is where heavy industries require both electricity and high-temperature heat for manufacturing processes, something that cannot always be electrified efficiently.“

Despite strong interest from industry and the digital sector, several challenges must still be addressed before SMRs can be widely deployed in Europe.

One of the biggest hurdles is regulatory alignment across countries. Since SMRs are designed to be manufactured in factories and delivered as modular units, developers need a standardised approach that avoids redesigning reactors for every national market.

“In order to do so, what we need is when we change site or country, we don’t have to redesign,” Baldi says, emphasising the need for more harmonised regulations across Europe.

Supply chain readiness is another key factor. Europe already has a strong nuclear supply base, but scaling up from a handful of large projects to dozens of modular reactors will require new skills, manufacturing capacity and investment.

Baldi believes the industry must move quickly from planning to action. “We need to start constructing, we need to start investing money,” he says, arguing that early projects will help the sector learn and build confidence.

Looking ahead, he expects SMRs to begin deployment at the start of the next decade. “We expect SMR… to be built starting 2030,” he says, suggesting the 2030s could become the decade when SMRs move from concept to commercial reality in Europe.

Listen to the full conversation below.