Public attitudes towards small modular reactors: An emerging research field and evidence from six countries

This research report aims to foster debate on the emerging findings of social sciences and humanities studies concerning societal aspects of small modular reactors (SMRs). While many countries within the European Union (EU) and beyond envision SMRs as a promising alternative to large traditional reactors
(LTRs) to boost the provision of (nuclear) energy, the specific societal implications of these technologies have been little studied. The following sections outline the diverse data gathered in Task 1.1 of the ECOSENS project, centred around examining empirical evidence on public attitudes towards the SMR technology. Putting some of our key findings in a broader context of research and practice, this report collates input from researchers with specialization in various branches of social sciences and beyond, complying with the interdisciplinary nature of the subject under study. As such, the investigation is in line with the recommendations of the international SHARE platform (Social sciences and Humanities in ionizing RAdiation research, visit https://www.ssh-share.eu/).
ECOSENS Work Package 1 assessed collaboratively the role of nuclear energy in the (imagined) energy worlds of European societies. Four tasks were pursued. First, to provide insights into the perceived risks, benefits and potentials of nuclear energy, Task 1.1 (object of the present report) employed a blend of
qualitative and quantitative approaches to study public attitudes in six countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. Second, Task 1.2 examined citizens’ motivations for engaging with nuclear energy in the context of societal challenges, such as the climate crisis, sustainability, or energy security. Third, Task 1.3 scrutinized and updated recommendations on stakeholder engagement in nuclear research and policy. Finally, in Task 1.4, stakeholder engagement workshops gathered some views of civil society on nuclear energy and the green transition. These tasks
complemented substantive research in other ECOSENS Work Packages on assessing the sustainability of the whole cycle of nuclear power (WP2) and developing a ‘system of provision’ approach to describing the economics of nuclear power (WP3). This report is thus also an invitation to explore the
wealth of results produced by ECOSENS that, we believe, will continue to grow (visit https://ecosens-project.eu/).
This report is organized into six thematic sections. Section 1 sketches a broader background for the study of nuclear energy in society to situate our contribution concerning public attitudes to SMRs, including an explanation of the methodology used. Narrowing down the scope, Section 2 clarifies the societal
dynamics around SMRs by interlinking public opinion and nuclear energy policy development, and by summarizing observations regarding the level of SMR technology uptake in six countries. The report goes on to present selected quantitative and qualitative research findings, starting with Section 3 on awareness of SMRs and imagining their future use, as well as rating of the technology and its socioeconomic impacts by the public. Section 4 puts attitudes towards SMRs in the context of current climate change and energy security challenges, and Section 5 compares the public acceptability of SMRs versus LTRs. Lastly, Section 6 focuses on topics related to decision-making processes about SMRs, such as trust in government or public participation, and provides insights from stakeholder meetings.
This report targets the varied community of experts and stakeholders involved or interested in the ways nuclear energy develops as part of contemporary societies. It will help researchers and practitioners to better understand the nascent research field of social aspects of SMRs. The more the promise of SMR
technologies will materialize, the more needful it will be to study its entanglement with societies.