European Investment Bank Supports SMR Development with €40M Loan to Steady Energy
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced its first loan of €40 million for an SMR developer, Steady Energy in Finland. This marks the beginning of a broader investment pipeline aimed at supporting small modular reactors (SMRs), which are smaller nuclear power plants that can be constructed faster than traditional facilities and provide stable baseload energy. The growing demand from AI companies for rapid expansion of data center infrastructure is increasing interest in SMRs, despite their higher per-megawatt costs. The EIB's move signals a shift toward recognizing the potential of these reactors to meet urgent power needs while offering lower upfront capital investment compared to conventional nuclear plants. While NuScale Power and Oklo Inc., two major U.S.-based SMR developers, are not directly involved in this deal, increased government support globally is seen as beneficial for their long-term prospects. Currently over 80 SMR projects are under development worldwide, but many remain at the conceptual or financing stage. The EIB's investment could help accelerate commercialization and provide real-world proof points that may improve market confidence in the technology.
Topics: European Investment Bank government funding nuclear energy Small modular reactors