EDF obtains landmark European Commission approval of €300 million in French state aid for development of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)

Client(s) EDF (Electricité de France)

Jones Day advised Electricité de France S.A. ("EDF") in securing the European Commission's approval of €300 million in State aid from the French State to support R&D activities in the field of Small Modular Reactors ("SMRs"). The Nuward project aims to develop processes for the design and construction of SMRs based on a simple and modular design and with a power equivalent to or less than 300 MWe. The €300 million French State aid follows a previous €50 million grant from the French State for an earlier phase of the same project, which was approved by the European Commission in December 2022. Jones Day also represented EDF/Nuward on the State aid aspects of this earlier phase. These measures contribute to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the European industrial strategy and the European Green Deal.