Czechia aims to produce up to 60 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power by 2050. The eight massive cooling towers at the Dukovany plant rise over an active construction zone where crews prepare for two new reactors. Mobile drilling teams extract samples 140 metres below ground to confirm the site’s suitability for the $19-billion expansion. The project will at least double national nuclear output and anchor Czechia among Europe’s most nuclear-reliant states.
South Korea’s KHNP won the bid over France’s EDF to build the new facility. The plant will host two reactors generating more than 1,000 megawatts each. These units will join Dukovany’s four older 512-MW reactors from the 1980s once they begin operating in the late 2030s. The KHNP contract also allows Czechia to commission two more reactors at the Temelín plant, which already runs two 1,000-MW units. After that, planners intend to introduce small modular reactors across the country.
Petr Závodský, head of the Dukovany project, said nuclear energy will supply between 50 and 60 per cent of Czech electricity by 2050. He stressed that the expansion helps the country move away from fossil fuels, secure reliable and affordable energy, comply with emissions goals, and meet the expected surge in demand from data centres and electric vehicles.
Europe Reconsiders Nuclear Energy
Czechia’s plan unfolds as rising energy needs and strict climate deadlines revive Europe’s interest in nuclear power. Nuclear plants produce radioactive waste but emit no greenhouse gases, making them attractive for countries aiming to cut carbon emissions. The European Union now includes nuclear energy in its list of sustainable economic activities, enabling easier access to financing. This decision benefits nuclear-heavy nations such as Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, and France.
Belgium and Sweden abandoned earlier phase-out plans, while Denmark and Italy reconsider their policies. Poland prepares to join the EU’s twelve nuclear-leaning countries after signing a deal with Westinghouse to build three reactors. The EU generated 24 per cent of its electricity from nuclear sources in 2024.
Britain signed a cooperation pact with the United States that officials say will usher in “a golden age of nuclear.” The UK will also invest £14.2 billion in the Sizewell C plant, its first new nuclear facility since 1995. Meanwhile, CEZ and Rolls-Royce SMR formed a strategic partnership to develop and deploy small modular reactors across Czechia.
High Costs, Strong Critics, and Regional Tension
The Dukovany project will cost more than €16 billion. The government will hold an 80 per cent stake in the plant and secure a long-term loan for construction. CEZ will repay that loan over 30 years, and the state will guarantee stable electricity revenues for 40 years. EU approval is expected because the bloc aims to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
Závodský argues that new reactors are essential as the country phases out coal by 2033. Czechia currently gets about 40 per cent of its power from nuclear energy and another 40 per cent from coal, creating an urgent need for replacement capacity. Earlier expansion efforts stalled when the government refused to provide financial guarantees for a 2014 Temelín tender.
Security concerns also shaped the project. Czechia excluded Russia’s Rosatom and China’s CNG from the Dukovany tender after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. CEZ then signed fuel-supply agreements with Westinghouse and Framatome to eliminate dependence on Russian nuclear fuel. The KHNP deal ensures fuel deliveries for a decade.
Not everyone supports nuclear growth. Environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth argue that nuclear projects cost too much and divert funds from other industrial improvements. Critics also point out that Czechia still lacks a permanent storage facility for spent fuel.
Austria strongly opposes its neighbour’s nuclear ambitions. The Dukovany and Temelín plants sit close to the Austrian border, and past disputes triggered political crises and border blockades. Austria remains the EU’s most anti-nuclear country and has already rejected Czech plans for small modular reactors.
