Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.“Nuclear technologies can play an important role in clean energy transitions,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit in March. The summit had been set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Belgium.
The German conservative pointed out that she was aware that “there are different views” in the EU on nuclear power. She added that “many countries are giving a fresh look to the potential role that nuclear might play” in the wake of “the global energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”. It could contribute to climate goals, energy security and stabilising energy prices, according to von der Leyen.
The projections of the International Energy Agency and the European Commission for 2050 show that nuclear power will grow and function as a complement to renewables which “will be the backbone of EU power production by 2050”, she said.
However, this energy source has declined both in the EU and in the world: Across the planet it has gone from 18 percent of the electricity “mix” in 1988 to nine percent today. In the EU, its use is currently around 22 percent when in the 1990s it still generated a third of Europe’s electricity.
Von der Leyen positioned herself in favour of extending the life of the nuclear plants in use “provided of course their safe operation”, as it is “one of the cheapest ways to secure clean power at scale”.
The European Council included nuclear energy among the strategic technologies for climate neutrality and as a way to accelerate the reduction of emissions it was incorporated in the conclusions document of the last Climate Summit (COP28) – a historic first.
Nuclear energy has been gaining space in the financial treatment it receives in the EU, but it still does not enjoy the same sympathies as renewables.
(Some) EU member states demand more money for nuclear energy
In March, the twelve EU member states grouped in the European Nuclear Alliance demanded more financing for nuclear energy and asked that financial institutions treat it the same as renewable energy.
“All net-zero technologies including nuclear energy and value chain should be leveraged, possibilities and benefits of financing instruments such as support of the EIB [European Investment Bank] and Innovation Fund will be explored to that end,” said the alliance’s statement after the first Nuclear Energy Summit.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Sweden commit to “developing access to private and public financing, and exploring the possibilities and benefits of European financing instruments”.
They point out as a specific objective “to support large-scale reactors, SMR technologies and [the] associated European value chain” with atomic energy, which requires enriched fuel and radioactive waste management systems, among others.
The alliance launched in 2023 to support a source for generating energy that EU member states Germany, Luxembourg, Spain or Denmark are not in favour of.
In Germany, the last three nuclear power plants went offline in April 2023 – but the calls for a return to nuclear energy are growing louder.
In December 2023, the Spanish government approved the 7th General Radioactive Waste Plan which establishes the government’s policy on the management of radioactive waste, including spent nuclear fuel, and the dismantling and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. It also established a timetable for the closure of nuclear power plants between 2027 and 2035.
However, there are also opponents to the closure, for example the president of Foro Nuclear, Ignacio Araluce. He said that the plants “are necessary for the system” and that Spain “is being left alone” in his idea of closing nuclear power plants.
EU support for the production of mini reactors
The European Commission actively supports the development of small modular reactors, within a technological race in which the EU lags behind China, the United States and Russia.
The European Industrial Alliance on SMR was launched last February by the European Commission together with the recommendation on the intermediate climate target for 2040, underlining the potential of atomic energy among the low-carbon technologies that can help the EU cut emissions. The initiative brings together governments, industry players and stakeholders seeking to accelerate the development of the sector.
Small modular reactors are nuclear reactors that are smaller in both power and physical size compared to traditional gigawatt-scale power plants.
Dutch innovation plans to reuse nuclear waste
Dutch start-up Thorizon will receive a ten million Euro grant from the French government. With this, the Amsterdam-based company wants to accelerate the development of a small nuclear reactor that uses nuclear waste from regular power plants as fuel. According to the company, one such plant could provide clean energy to 250,000 households.
The new nuclear reactor should become more sustainable, cheaper and safer than conventional nuclear reactors. “Our design is unique in using replaceable cartridges in the reactor core. This allows us to work with materials that do not need to withstand reactor conditions for 50 or 100 years,” explained Thorizon’s CEO Kiki Lauwers.
Franco-Italian nuclear cooperation to combat steel industry emissions
In July, French electricity group EDF announced that it had signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in Italy with the federation of steel industries to speed up the decarbonisation of the sector in a country that has been nuclear-free for almost 35 years.
The agreement aims at “promoting cooperation in the use of nuclear energy to boost the competitiveness and decarbonisation of the Italian steel industry”, EDF said in a press release. The steel industry is a major emitter of greenhouse gases.
The memorandum of understanding was signed with Italian energy company Edison, Italian power plant manufacturer Ansaldo Energia, nuclear technology developer Ansaldo Nucleare and Federacciai, the Italian steel industry federation.
It “marks further progress in setting an agenda for developing new nuclear energy in Italy”, said Nicola Monti, Edison’s CEO, quoted in the press release.
Italy has not produced nuclear energy since the 1990s, following the country’s decision in a referendum to withdraw from civil nuclear power in 1987 after the Chernobyl accident.
Nuclear reactor for medical purposes
In late July, the European Commission agreed to a two billion Euro Dutch subsidy for the construction of a new nuclear reactor in the Dutch village of Petten. The reactor – which doesn’t generate electricity – is intended, among other things, to develop and store medical radioisotopes for cancer treatment for the medical PALLAS project.
Mandatory under European competition agreements, the Netherlands had requested permission from Brussels for the grant for construction.
According to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the application was approved because the PALLAS project contributes to securing essential medicines for the European market. The project can also provide “a breakthrough innovation” in nuclear technology that benefits European citizens.
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