At the 16th European Nuclear Energy Forum, held on 6 and 7 November in Bratislava, Slovakia, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, announced the creation of a new industrial alliance dedicated to small modular reactors (SMRs).
“I have discussed this in detail with representatives of European industry, regulators and the research community. All the parties concerned are ready to create a European industrial alliance for small modular reactors”, she said in her opening address on Tuesday 7 November.
The new alliance is expected to be established in early 2024 and will work towards the deployment of SMRs and the establishment of a robust supply chain, focusing on four areas: encouraging market players, funding SMRs, ensuring that the nuclear industry is well equipped (skilled workforce and the involvement of the EU supply chain in the development of SMRs) and supporting innovation, research and development.
At the European Nuclear Energy Forum, the message more widely communicated was that nuclear energy technologies will play a significant role in the energy transition between now and 2050, as mentioned by Commissioner Simson.
“It is up to the Member States to decide on their own energy mix”, she reiterated. “But it should be noted that, more generally, we are seeing a renewed interest in nuclear energy in the EU”.
In addition, a new meeting of the European Nuclear Alliance (see EUROPE 13272/9) was held as part of this forum, at the initiative of France and Slovakia, a few weeks after the Council of the EU reached an agreement on the reform of the European electricity market (see EUROPE 13273/2). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)