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“Nuclear technologies can play an important role in transitions to clean energies,” said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the first Nuclear Energy Summit held in March. The summit was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Belgium.
The German conservative pointed out that she is aware that there are “different views” on nuclear energy within the EU. She added that “many countries are reconsidering the potential role that nuclear energy could play” as a result of “the global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” According to von der Leyen, it could contribute to climate goals, energy security, and energy price stabilization.
Projections from the International Energy Agency and the European Commission for 2050 show that nuclear energy will grow and complement renewable energies, which “will be the backbone of the EU’s energy production in 2050,” she said.
However, this energy source has been declining both in the EU and around the world: in 1988 it accounted for 18% of the global electricity mix and currently accounts for 9%. In the EU, its use is currently around 22%, whereas in the 1990s it still generated a third of Europe’s electricity.
Von der Leyen advocated for extending the lifespan of nuclear plants in use “as long as, of course, their operation is safe,” as it is “one of the cheapest ways to ensure large-scale clean energy.”
The European Council included nuclear energy among the strategic technologies for climate neutrality and, as a way to accelerate emission reductions, incorporated it into the conclusions document of the last Climate Summit (COP28), a historic first.
Nuclear energy has been gaining traction in the financial treatment it receives in the EU but 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 funding for nuclear energy and called for financial institutions to treat it in the same way as renewable energy.
“All net-zero technologies, including nuclear energy and the value chain, must be harnessed; to this end, the possibilities and benefits of financing instruments, such as EIB [European Investment Bank] support and the Innovation Fund, will be explored,” stated the alliance’s declaration following the first Nuclear Energy Summit.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Sweden pledged to “develop access to private and public financing and explore the possibilities and benefits of European financing instruments.”
They set a specific goal 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 was launched in 2023 to support a source of power generation that EU member states Germany, Luxembourg, Spain or Denmark do not support.
In Germany, the last three nuclear plants ceased operation in April 2023, but calls to return to nuclear energy are growing stronger.
In December 2023, the Spanish government approved the VII General Radioactive Waste Plan, establishing the government’s policy on the management of radioactive waste, including spent nuclear fuel, and the dismantling and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. It also set a timetable for the closure of nuclear power plants between 2027 and 2035.
However, there are also opponents of the closure, such as the president of the Nuclear Forum, Ignacio Araluce, who has stated that the plants “are necessary for the system” and that Spain “is being left alone” in its idea to close nuclear plants.
EU Support for Mini-Reactor Production
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.
In February, the European Commission launched the European SMR Industrial Alliance along with the recommendation on the interim climate target for 2040, emphasizing the potential of atomic energy among the low-carbon technologies that can help the EU reduce emissions. The initiative brings together governments, industry players, and stakeholders seeking to accelerate the sector’s development.
Small modular reactors are nuclear reactors that are smaller, both in power and physical size, compared to traditional gigawatt-scale power plants.
Dutch Innovation Plans to Reuse Nuclear Waste
The Dutch start-up Thorizon will receive a ten-million-euro grant from the French government. With it, the Amsterdam-based company aims to accelerate the development of a small nuclear reactor that uses nuclear waste from conventional power plants as fuel. According to the company, one of these plants could supply clean energy to 250,000 homes.
The new nuclear reactor will be more sustainable, cheaper, and safer than conventional nuclear reactors. “Our design is unique because it uses 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 Kiki Lauwers, Thorizon’s general manager.
Franco-Italian Nuclear Cooperation to Combat Emissions from the Steel Industry
In July, the French electricity group EDF announced that it had signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in Italy with the steel industry federation to accelerate the decarbonization of the sector in a country that has been free of nuclear energy for almost 35 years.
The agreement aims to “promote cooperation in the use of nuclear energy to boost the competitiveness and decarbonization of Italy’s 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 the Italian energy company Edison, the Italian power plant manufacturer Ansaldo Energia, the nuclear technology developer Ansaldo Nucleare, and Federacciai, the Italian steel industry federation.
“This marks a new step in establishing an agenda for the development of new nuclear energy in Italy,” said Nicola Monti, CEO of Edison, 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 energy in 1987 after the Chernobyl accident.
Nuclear Reactor for Medical Purposes
In late July, the European Commission approved a two-billion-euro grant for the construction of a new nuclear reactor in the Dutch town of Petten. The reactor, which does not generate electricity, is intended, among other things, to develop and store medical radioisotopes for cancer treatment under the PALLAS medical project.
As required under European competition agreements, the Netherlands had requested authorization from Brussels for the construction grant.
According to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the request was approved because the PALLAS project contributes to ensuring the availability of essential medicines for the European market. The project can also provide “a groundbreaking innovation” in nuclear technology that benefits European citizens.
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