Nuclear power: EU energy ministers want to reduce dependency

nuclear power plant

Europe needs to address its future energy security.

(Photo: imago images/Westend61)

Today, boosting our ambition to fight climate change must be part of Europe’s quest for strategic and energy autonomy, as Russia’s brutal military aggression in Ukraine has forced a rethink on energy in Europe.

The context for the EU taxonomy, the classification of sustainable investments, before Russia invaded Ukraine was different than it is today. In October 2021, we already declared: “If Europe wants to win the fight against climate change, it needs nuclear energy. It is a vital and reliable resource for everyone to secure a low-carbon future.”

Today there is a war going on beyond the EU borders. Due to Russia’s unlawful actions, EU citizens and industry are feeling the effects of high and volatile energy prices.

If the EU wants to remain on the decarbonisation path while ensuring security of supply, we must change our stance on nuclear energy adjust accordingly. Large amounts of low-carbon electricity and low-carbon hydrogen will be needed to meet the energy needs of industry and society and to meet the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target.

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Electricity demand is set to double in the next 30 years and the time to act is now. As a low-carbon, base-load energy source, nuclear energy can play an essential role in an energy mix compatible with climate neutrality without the need for massive reliance on energy imports. And it has been proven that achieving climate neutrality and ensuring security of supply by 2050 will require investments of 500 billion euros in new nuclear power plants.

In order to meet this challenge, nuclear energy must be included in the policies of the Green Deal and the “REPowerEU” plan, as envisaged in the long-term European strategic vision “Clean Planet for all”, which clearly states that nuclear energy, together with renewable energies, has the potential to form the backbone of a carbon-free European energy system.

“Europe needs a realistic strategy”

Nuclear energy is capable of overcoming various challenges. First, nuclear power is capable of providing the amounts of electricity needed for future electrification with the highest safety standards, and is a key component in finding a solution to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel imports from Russia.

Second, considering the so-called system costs and the value of stability, nuclear energy is a competitive energy source, especially when considering special financing arrangements for such capital-intensive projects. As far as the disposal of radioactive waste, also from medicine or industry, is concerned, the technologies for disposal are available; according to current knowledge, deep geological repositories are considered to be a suitable and safe solution for highly radioactive waste, and the technology for their construction is already available today.

Finally, Europe needs a realistic strategy for hydrogen production and should not become heavily dependent on imports – bearing in mind the existing problems of energy import dependency. Europe must expand its capacity to produce climate-neutral hydrogen and create a suitable framework for the development of hydrogen from nuclear energy.

The first step is already included in the EU Commission’s supplementary delegated legal act on taxonomy, which defines criteria for the construction and safe operation of new nuclear power plants, including for hydrogen production. This makes the deployment of the hydrogen ecosystem more realistic, both in scope and timeline.

Against this background, the signatories join the statement of 20 trade unions representing Belgian, Bulgarian, Czech, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Slovak and Slovenian workers in the energy sector and support the effective inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy as a essential for combating climate change and increasing energy independence.

In light of the above challenges, we call on the European Commission to step up its actions and, as one of the next steps, to update the Nuclear Illustrative Program (PINC) under Article 40 of the Euratom Treaty, which provides an overview of the objectives and the investments required throughout Life cycle of nuclear energy offers.

the authors:

  • Bulgaria: Alexander Nikolov, Minister of Energy
  • Czech Republic: Jozef Síkela, Minister of Industry and Trade
  • Finland: Mika Lintilä, Minister of Economy
  • France: Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Energy Transition Minister
  • Croatia: Before Filipović, Minister of Economy
  • Hungary: László Palkovics, Minister of Innovation and Technology
  • Poland: Anna Moskwa, Minister for Climate and Environment
  • Romania: Virgil Daniel Popescu, Minister of Energy
  • Slovakia: Richard Sulík, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy
  • Slovenia: Bojan Kumer, Minister of Infrastructure

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