Brussels – “Europe wants to be part” of the revival of nuclear energy. At the inauguration of the second Nuclear Energy Summit, in Paris – hosted by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and attended by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi — the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the new European strategy to strengthen the European nuclear energy sector.
According to von der Leyen, the decision to reduce the share of nuclear power “was a strategic mistake for Europe” because it meant “to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power.” So, with the aim of limiting the damage, the European Commission will today (10 March) present the new European nuclear strategy, which will be adopted by the College of Commissioners that, as always during the European Parliament’s plenary weeks, meets in Strasbourg. Today, nuclear power accounts for 10 per cent of global electricity production, with 450 reactors in some 30 countries. This percentage is too low for the President of the European Commission, who gave a preview of the strategy her team will adopt this afternoon in Paris. In particular, regarding small modular reactors, the aim is to have the new technology operational by 2030, “so it can play a key role alongside traditional nuclear reactors, in a flexible, safe, and efficient energy system.”
Von der Leyen proposed three main measures. First, the creation of simple rules through regulatory sandboxes (controlled, limited regulatory environments where innovative companies can experiment, benefiting from simplified regulations) enables companies to test innovative technologies. Secondly, the mobilisation of investment: von der Leyen announced that a 200 million euro guarantee will be created to support private investment in innovative nuclear technologies, aiming to send a “clear signal for other investors to join.” Finally, a joint European effort is needed to ensure that all Member States align their regulatory frameworks and speed up authorisations to develop the skills the sector needs.
But the Commission’s ambition is not limited to small modular reactors: “We also need to strengthen the wider nuclear ecosystem – from fuel to technology, from supply chains to skills.” This, von der Leyen added, “is also the purpose of our Clean Energy Investment Strategy – to lower energy costs, to accelerate the deployment of clean technologies and to open up more financing opportunities.” In essence, “The nuclear tech race is on,” according to von der Leyen. “But we know that Europe has everything it needs to lead. We have half a million highly skilled workers in nuclear, far more than the US and China. We lead global innovation in modular reactors. And now we have the ambition to move at speed and scale for Europe to be a global hub of next-generation nuclear energy,” she noted.
The position of the Commission’s head aligns with Macron’s opening remarks: civil nuclear power must be supported because “it is necessary as a factor of independence,” particularly in a geopolitical context where dependence on other hydrocarbons can “become a tool for pressure or even destabilisation.” Therefore, nuclear power can be a source of “independence, energy sovereignty, decarbonisation, and competitiveness”. The path forward involves “standardisation” to “reduce costs and ensure that nuclear energy plays a role in the energy transition”, in line with the 2050 decarbonisation objectives.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
