EU moving to develop infrastructure for nuclear energy expansion: officials

Europe now has the political will to develop nuclear power infrastructure after years of favoring renewable energy investments, government and industry officials said during an industry conference in Brussels Dec. 17.

A new business model for EU nuclear energy investments, including the development of small modular reactors and a potential competitiveness fund, are urgently needed to capitalize on this momentum, the officials added.

Nuclear energy is an "inevitable" energy choice for Hungary, said Attila Steiner, state secretary for energy and climate policy in Hungary's energy ministry. "I believe this is also the case for Europe." Hungary has led policy negotiations for the 27 European Union countries for the last six months of 2024 as it held the rotating EU presidency.

There is "a good political will" to support nuclear energy in Europe, as shown by the European Nuclear Alliance of 15 EU countries, launched by France in May 2023, Steiner said at the Business Case for Nuclear conference organized by trade association NuclearEurope. The question now is "how to translate this to financing and sectoral rules," Steiner added.

Europe needs to catch up with Asia and parts of the US, which have for the last 20 years continued to fund nuclear power infrastructure, while the EU focused on supporting renewable energy, said Andre Autrand, CEO of the Belgian Infrastructure Fund.

The creation of a European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors shows "we [the EU] now have the political will to push a mass of SMR projects forward," said Massimo Garribba, deputy director-general for energy at the European Commission.

The SMR Alliance was launched by the commission in February 2024 to speed up the development of SMRs in Europe. The commission says the alliance of nuclear power companies, financial institutions, research organizations, training centers and non-profit groups will guide the deployment of the first SMRs in Europe by the early 2030s.

"We need all the decarbonized energy we can get our hands on," said Stefano Soro, head of unit for net zero industries, sustainable and circular products, at the European Commission's Department for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. "Nuclear is very much part of the picture," he added.

Soro said that it was a "myth" that the US Inflation Reduction Act had put the EU at a disadvantage when it comes to promoting technologies and innovation. The EU Net Zero Industry Act in February "explicitly recognized" that nuclear energy projects are eligible for accelerated permits in the EU, he noted.

In addition, "we do have a lot of money," said Soro. This is shown by Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen's idea to create a competitiveness fund for strategic technologies, he said. This could include a debate around EU funding of new nuclear energy projects, including by the European Investment Bank, Soro added.

Ahead of the selection of a college of new commissioners this year, Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that a competitiveness fund will be part of proposals for the next EU budget covering 2028 to 2034. First projects for funding will be proposed in 2025.

The EIB can in theory fund nuclear energy technologies but has for decades favored investments in renewables. EIB President Nadia Calvino has said the bank could consider investments in SMRs but has not commented on support for large reactors or lifetime extensions of the existing nuclear fleet.

Alan Woods, director of strategy and business development, at Rolls Royce SMR, Ltd. agreed in remarks to the conference that "the market for nuclear is here." But, he added, "the reputation of nuclear power is terrible," with projects regularly late and over budget. "If we are going to take advantage of the market, we have to do things fundamentally differently."

SMRs are an opportunity to build a new business model. This means developing "a standardized approach, off site and in a factory, on a production line," he said. In this way, industry can demonstrate to financiers and insurers that it is possible to repeat the safe, fast and standardized construction of nuclear power units.

"I am sure we are going to change the business model, or we won't have any business," said Massimiliano Tacconelli, vice president for nuclear and big science director for chemical, fertilizer, food and pharmaceutical company Walter Tosto. Before getting financing, "we must show credible projects and certainty."

Legal framework can be adapated

Ximena Vasquez-Maignan, legal counsel for law firm White & Case, said at the Dec. 17 conference "We're in a new era. We see the urgency of developing nuclear again."

Questions about, for instance, safety and liability around the development and use of SMRs are, she explained, "new questions we have to answer that we never did before. The legal framework exists [in Europe] but we have to adapt it to new challenges."

Europe has over recent months softened its opposition to nuclear power, following disruptions to natural gas supplies as a result of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and fears that carbon dioxide emissions cannot be cut far enough using only renewable energy. Elections to national governments and the European Parliament this year saw voters move away from nuclear-skeptic Green parties, in favor of center-right groups open to nuclear construction or reactor life extensions.

A new team of European Commissioners voted in Nov 27, however, gave the roles of competition and energy commissioners to candidates who have previously opposed plans to develop nuclear energy in Europe or to label it as a clean energy source.