Project Details
About This Project
Executive Overview
The Doicesti SMR is a 462 MWe NuScale VOYGR-6 small modular reactor project being developed at the site of the former Doicești thermal coal power plant (600 MW) in Dâmbovița County, approximately 90 km northwest of Bucharest. The Final Investment Decision (FID) was approved by Nuclearelectrica shareholders on February 12, 2026. The project is jointly owned by RoPower Nuclear — a joint venture of Nuclearelectrica (82% state-owned) and Nova Power & Gas (a subsidiary of E-INFRA). Total estimated project cost is $6.7 billion. U.S. financing support includes a $98 million Export-Import Bank loan for pre-project services, plus Letters of Interest from the DFC (up to $1 billion) and U.S. Exim (up to $3 billion). The NuScale 77 MWe module design received NRC design approval on May 29, 2025. The first module is targeted for commercial operation in 2033; all six modules are planned to be staggered beyond 2030. This will be the first NuScale SMR deployment outside the United States and the first SMR deployment in Europe.
How It Works & Differentiation
The NuScale VOYGR-6 uses six 77 MWe NuScale Power Modules (NPMs) — each a self-contained pressurised water reactor submerged in a common reactor pool. NPMs are fully factory-fabricated and shipped to site, where they are lowered into the pool and connected to a shared turbine hall. The modular architecture allows incremental commissioning: each module comes online independently, so the plant produces power before all six units are complete. The Doicești site's existing 650 MW grid connection (refurbished after coal plant demolition) provides direct grid access. The site has already undergone 600,000 tonnes of demolition and remediation. Romania has over 26 years of nuclear operating experience through the Cernavoda CANDU plant (two 706 MW units, supplying approximately 20% of national electricity).
Commercialization & Traction
The FID unlocks a 15-month pre-EPC stage covering geotechnical investigations, licensing, pre-EPC contract negotiations, and supply chain definition. The project creates nearly 200 permanent jobs, 1,500 construction jobs, and approximately 2,300 manufacturing and component assembly jobs. The FID comes with conditions (details under an 8-year confidentiality agreement) related to financing certainty and technology readiness. Romania is simultaneously pursuing Cernavoda Unit 1 refurbishment (30-year life extension beyond 2029) and Cernavoda Units 3 and 4 construction (2 × 700 MW CANDU, targeted 2030/2031), making the Doicești SMR one strand of the most ambitious nuclear expansion programme in Europe.
Scalability & Strategic Context
Doicesti is NuScale's highest-profile international deployment commitment, providing a European regulatory reference case at a moment when NuScale's U.S. commercial pipeline remains in development. The U.S. government's combined financing support of approximately $4 billion reflects both energy security and geopolitical dimensions of the Romania-U.S. partnership. If all six modules are commissioned by the mid-2030s, Romania would derive a significant proportion of its electricity from a domestic SMR fleet, establishing a replicable coal-to-nuclear conversion model for Central and Eastern European countries seeking to phase out lignite.
Project Timeline
Further Reading
Planned SMR nuclear power plant to cost $6.7 billion, Romanian PM says
Romania's planned small modular nuclear reactor plant in Doicesti, which could be Europe's first using this technology, is expected to cost $6-7 billion and will require a complex funding plan before construction begins.
Final investment decision taken for Romania's SMRs
The article reports that Romania's Nuclearelectrica has approved the Final Investment Decision for a small modular reactor (SMR) project at Doicești, marking the transition to the implementation phase for a 462 MWe NuScale plant to replace a former coal facility and strengthen Romania's position in the European nuclear industry.
Romania’s Coal-to-NuScale SMR Conversion Secures FID, Moves Into Implementation—with Caveats
Romania’s state nuclear utility has approved a final investment decision to convert the former Doicești coal plant into a 462-MWe NuScale small modular reactor project, moving into implementation with key conditions attached to its feasibility and execution.
Final investment decision taken for Romania's SMRs
The article reports that Romania's Nuclearelectrica has approved the Final Investment Decision for a small modular reactor (SMR) project at Doicești, marking the transition to the implementation phase for a 462 MWe NuScale plant to replace a former coal facility and strengthen Romania's position in the European nuclear industry.
Final Investment Decision Approved for Six New Oil and Gas Projects in Malaysia
The post announces that Romania has approved the Final Investment Decision for a $7 billion project to build six NuScale small modular reactors at Doicesti, marking a major step toward implementing clean nuclear energy with significant U.S. financial backing and aiming for the first module to be operational by 2033.
SMR Project
The SMR Project is Romania's initiative to implement NuScale small modular reactors at Doicești, aiming to provide clean, stable energy, replace coal-fired power plants, and position the country as a European leader in innovative nuclear technology.
NuScale and RoPower Announce Signing of the Contract for Phase 1 Engineering and Design Work