Twelve European Union Member States, including France, called on the Commission to create an industrial alliance for small modular nuclear reactors (SMR), in a joint letter obtained and published on Friday by the Context site.
In the joint letter, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden called on the European Commission to create an “EU-wide industrial alliance” , adding that The initiative should “stimulate investment in European SMR capabilities and the development of a European value chain.”
This alliance would strengthen “our energy sovereignty and the competitiveness of our industry,” said the representatives of the member states. The latter also considered that the Commission’s support was “necessary” to “ensure that these innovative projects benefit from current and future European legislation.”
“A solution for the production of electricity without fossil energy”
The European Nuclear Energy Forum, which will be held in Bratislava (Slovakia) on Monday and Tuesday, “would be an opportunity to move forward in this direction,” they also estimated. Last May, the twelve States met in Paris with Belgium and Estonia, with whom they form an alliance of pro-nuclear European countries, in addition to Italy and the United Kingdom, in order to establish a roadmap towards the development of nuclear energy.
To decarbonize the industry, the Commission favored the development of fourth-generation nuclear reactors, as well as small modular reactors, both currently under development. The signatory countries argued in their letter that small modular reactors could “be a solution for the production of electricity without fossil fuels in the 2030s”, ensuring that “nuclear energy could provide up to 150 gigawatts (GW) to the EU of here in 2050”. compared to the current 100 GW.
Source: BFM TV
