European nuclear sector stakeholders have been meeting with policymakers this week for the annual European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) in Bratislava. The event confirmed an increasing interest in nuclear technologies in some EU countries, and their potential role in meeting Europe’s decarbonisation targets and security of energy supply objectives. Alongside this meeting, the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson took part in meetings with the European nuclear industry, nuclear safety regulators as well as Member States of the Nuclear Alliance to discuss the challenges for the establishment of an industrial alliance on small and modular reactors (SMRs) and the potential benefits.
Acknowledging the wide stakeholder support for setting up a European Industrial Alliance on SMRs, Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said:
'I will work with my colleagues in the Commission towards the establishment of a European Industrial Alliance on SMRs in the earliest possible timeframe. Those Member States that decide to rely on nuclear energy as part of their energy mix should be able to deploy SMRs by the next decade and use their potential for their decarbonisation efforts. I want to ensure that the EU has a policy on SMRs that brings everybody together and does not create divisions between different low-carbon technologies. I note the preparatory work accomplished since the first European strategic workshop on SMRs in June 2021.'
Following on opening statements by the Slovak and Czech prime ministers, and an introductory speech from the Commissioner, the ENEF received a video message from Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Energy Yaroslav Demchenkov on behalf of Energy Minister German Galushchenko. Discussions also looked at the challenges of diversifying suppliers in the nuclear supply chain in order to minimise Europe’s dependence on supplies from unreliable providers of uranium, nuclear fuels, spare parts and services.
Commission speakers underlined that Member States have the autonomy to choose their national energy mix, and that the Commission’s priority is to ensure that nuclear energy is used in accordance with the highest nuclear safety standards and makes use only of reliable supplies from trustworthy partners and the most advanced technologies.
Background
First established in 2007, the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) takes place every year alternatively in Bratislava and Prague. It is open to anyone with an interest in nuclear energy, including EU governments, European institutions, representatives of the nuclear industry and regulators, electricity consumers and civil society.
In the margins of this year’s ENEF, the Commission organised the “European SMR Partnership – the Way forward” event to review the state of play on SMRs in Europe and discuss progress towards establishing a European SMR Partnership. The establishment of such a partnership was one of the objectives set in June 2021 at the first EU workshop on SMRs. This initiative has received broad support from stakeholders, but consultations have shown that several issues (skills and industrial competence, licensing, management of spent fuel and radioactive waste) will need to feature prominently in the next steps towards a European initiative on SMRs.
The European SMR Partnership preparations have been ongoing since early 2022 under the lead of a Steering Committee composed of representatives from industry, research, nuclear safety regulator and the European Commission. This Steering Committee tackled five workstreams in groups bringing together in total more than 120 EU experts and dealing with key topics for SMR development in the EU: market analysis; licensing; financing; supply chain adaptation; research and innovation. The reports prepared under these different workstreams were published in July 2023, which were then considered through a stakeholder consultation and at a Stakeholder Forum convened by the European Commission on 26 October 2023 in Brussels.
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Details
- Publication date
- 7 November 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Energy