In a context marked by the rise in energy costs, aggravated by the tension in the Middle East, Europe is betting on redesigning its energy strategy to be able to redouble its efforts in search of an increase in security, competitiveness, and affordability. At a summit in Paris, the community president Ursula von der Leyen has embraced the re-boost to nuclear energy as one of the measures capable of curbing this escalation.
The plan designed by Brussels, and which has been detailed by Von der Leyen, is developed around two main pillars. On the one hand, a strong commitment to Small Modular Reactors and, at the same time, deploying a massive strategy for mobilizing private capital for the clean transition. The European Commission has identified Small Modular Reactors as a shared industrial project for decarbonization. What is intended is that the first installations can be operational by the beginning of the next decade.
For the German, the debate should not focus on choosing whether to bet on nuclear or renewables, but on “improving the global energy system”. “Nuclear energy is reliable and provides electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Therefore, the most efficient system combines nuclear and renewable energy, and is based on storage, flexibility, and grids”, she recognized in Paris before a sector meeting.
Types of modular reactors
In the background, the community executive wants to overcome the barriers of large traditional nuclear projects through modularity, series manufacturing, and new financing models. In the communication distributed this week, the European Union classifies the Small Modular Reactors (SMR) into three main categories to cover various market needs.
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Light water SMRs. Those derived from current reactor technology are the most advanced towards the commercial phase and are expected to begin operating within five years.
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Advanced Modular Reactors. They belong to Generation IV and use innovative coolants, such as liquid metals, molten salts, or high-temperature gas. Their main objective is to close the fuel cycle, improving sustainability and reducing radioactive waste.
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Microreactors. They are units of less than 10 MW, transportable and with very long fuel cycles, ideal for remote industrial or defense sites.
New industrial applications
Unlike traditional nuclear, this type of reactors not only seek to generate electricity for the grid, but to integrate directly into consumers' daily lives. In the chemical industry, for example, they serve to supply high-temperature steam for processes of refinery and ammonia production, replacing fossil fuel cogeneration plants.
Furthermore, they provide stable and low-carbon energy for large-scale Artificial Intelligence centers, which relieves congestion on the general grid.
Its size also allows locating them near cities to power modern heat networks used in urban heating, which operate between seventy and one hundred twenty degrees. With all, its use is being explored for maritime propulsion and the electrification of green hydrogen production.
Mass production to lower costs
Brussels is immersed in a process of cheapening processes. That is why it has proposed abandoning the model of unique and massive projects for one that bets on industrial series production. Through a European-level alliance, more than four hundred organizations in charge of executing a strategic plan in the coming years will be coordinated.
With common industrial standards, components could be manufactured modularly in factories and be assembled on site, thus reducing construction times. The community strategy also seeks to revitalize the supply chain to avoid new external dependencies.
Because private capital perceives high risks in novel technologies, the Commission has decided to deploy new tools capable of boosting its initiative. Two hundred billion euros will be available until 2028 for all those first commercial units of these reactors. Along with this, the Zero Industry Act grants States the capacity to create geographical zones with ultra-fast permit procedures and tax incentives. The Commission wants to incentivize the use of models such as tripartite agreements between States, suppliers, and large industrial consumers to share the financial risk. The truth is that one of the most innovative points is the creation of a regulatory coalition of volunteers.
Regulatory cooperation between countries
The participating countries could recognize licenses issued by other Member States for the same reactor design, which would eliminate the need for redundant national approval processes.
Regulatory sandboxes would be created, which would serve as spaces for approving innovative components under coordinated supervision from several authorities. The European proposal speaks of a simplification of procedures for the exchange of data and dual-use components between Union countries, with the aim of avoiding administrative delays.
The necessary investment for the energy transition
Now, to achieve the climate objectives that Europe had set for itself, the Commission estimates that annual investment in the energy sector must increase by about 420 billion euros in the coming years. In this regard, given that public capital is considered insufficient, Brussels has also presented this Wednesday its strategy to act as a lever for attracting private investment.
Tools will be introduced **to improve the balance sheets of network operators**. Thus, the **European Investment Bank** will participate in **a Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund**, which will consist of **a 500 million euro capital platform** from the EIB to **co-invest in critical projects**. The institution led by Nadia Calviño will act as **anchor investor** through **hybrid bonds that count as own capital**, increasing **the debt capacity of operators**.
This strategy supports the commercial deployment of technologies such as long-duration energy storage, floating offshore wind, ocean energy, and carbon capture. Brussels will promote the use of the State Aid Framework for the Clean Industrial Pact, which allows States to grant rapid aid for industrial decarbonization.
“The nuclear technology race has begun”, has stated Von der Leyen, who says she is aware that the continent has everything necessary to lead. The Commission assures it has the ambition to advance with speed and scale so that Europe becomes a global hub for next-generation nuclear energy.