Publication
Are Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) an important driver for decarbonizing heating networks in Europe?
January 2026
Sector-specific decarbonization
Practical solution
Energy
Sector-specific decarbonization
Practical solution
Energy
Publication
Are Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) an important driver for decarbonizing heating networks in Europe?
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With the contribution of
Alexandre Joly
Senior Manager / Department leader
Decarbonizing heat is a key pillar of the energy transition and requires strong political will.
Achieving this goal in Europe by 2050 requires a clear and sustained political commitment capable of supporting ambitious transformation efforts.
The low-carbon solutions implemented must be tailored to local conditions, the volume and seasonality of demand, and offer a genuine capacity for scaling up.
The primary driver of decarbonization in the heating sector is a reduction in consumption through efficiency and conservation
Energy-efficiency upgrades and lower setpoint temperatures are essential for managing demand and bringing it closer to the 2,000 TWh that needs to be supplied. A smaller reduction would jeopardize the goal of total decarbonization.
A significant increase in the share of district heating systems is also a prerequisite for optimizing the total cost of the system
District heating remains a critical component of the transition: District heating networks (DHNs) meet nearly 15% of Europe's heating needs, or 500–550 TWh of distributed heat to 80 million citizens. Half of these facilities—numbering approximately 19,000—still rely on fossil fuels (gas and coal, mostly imported from outside the EU) for their energy supply.
Expanding and decarbonizing these networks presents a dual opportunity in terms of climate action and energy sovereignty: the energy used for heating and cooling accounts for nearly half of Europe’s final energy consumption[1]. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, market scenarios anticipate a massive expansion of district heating networks, whose production could reach 800 TWh or even 1,000 TWh.
Renewable, electric, and heat recovery solutions are already in use today: geothermal energy, solar thermal energy, heat pumps, waste heat, and biomass. They could meet 75% of grid demand by 2050.
The deployment of “heat-generating” SMRs could be one way to cover all or part of the ~25% shortfall in production. Challenges remain—particularly regulatory and operational ones—but momentum appears to be building.
This publication analyzes the conditions under which SMRs (Small Modular Reactors – small modular reactors) could contribute to the decarbonization of European district heating networks: market potential, economic competitiveness, regulatory constraints, technological maturity, and social acceptability.
1.
Eurostat, Renewable Energy for Heating and Cooling to Reach 25% by 2022 and 2024
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