Industry must build on new EU openness to nuclear energy, EU official says

European funds and policy support for nuclear energy will only be possible if the nuclear industry demonstrates a clear business case for investing in new reactors, business representatives and EU officials said at a conference April 28.

Massimo Garribba, deputy director general in the European Commission energy department, said EU efforts to cut carbon emissions and boost competitiveness had increased support for nuclear power from both policy-makers and members of the public.

"Openness to nuclear energy is happening" he said at the conference, hosted by industry group NuclearEurope and the Polish government. "Opening up to money may be more controversial. It needs a proper negotiating technique."

"The onus is now on industry to move the debate forward," Garribba said in Brussels. "Build on time and to budget."

"Nuclear is needed for the path to decarbonization," he said. "Nuclear is also useful if included in plans for European competitiveness."

Commission work plans Feb. 26 included a promise to "tackle the investment gap and mobilize private capital for the energy transition" with an updated Nuclear Illustrative Program (PINC) expected to be released before the end of the year.

The PINC is an overview of planned and recommended nuclear energy investments across Europe. The last PINC was published by the commission in 2017 and set out significant safety and security upgrades for nuclear reactors in the EU in light of the Fukushima I nuclear accident in Japan. The 2017 PINC predicted a decline in EU nuclear capacity to 2025 and then a leveling out to 2050.

"PINC is important in itself if it keeps nuclear in the public debate, but only if it is followed up by measures in support of the nuclear industry," Garribba said. He said PINC would feed into debate on the next EU budget for the years 2028 to 2031.

The current budget includes funds for nuclear safety and security research, as well as nuclear fusion projects, but not for new or existing nuclear reactors. Draft guidelines for 2028-31 budget negotiations, published by the commission Feb. 11, focus on the further deployment of renewable energy but make no mention of nuclear power.

Marcin Kaminski of Polish state-owned nuclear power company Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe said that even though "a robust EU safety framework exists" EU regulations "create risks and challenges" for potential nuclear power investors. These include questions about whether state support for nuclear power is allowed under EU law.

PEJ is overseeing the planned construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant in Pomerania, on the Polish Baltic Sea coast.

Kaminski said government and industry would have to await the results of "an influx of state aid cases" in the EU courts to see when governments can cover the "financial risk" of generating power from nuclear reactors.

In December 2024 the commission launched an investigation into public support the Polish government plans to give to the first nuclear plant project.

"We have to incentivize investments in nuclear," Kaminski said. This means getting policymakers to "acknowledge the role of nuclear to provide baseload electricity."

'Window of opportunity' seen

Maciej Witucki, vice president of Business Europe and president of Polish employers' organization Confederation Lewiatan, said there was now "visible social and political acceptable of nuclear energy. We have a window of opportunity created by Putin and Trump. Let's use them."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine under President Vladimir Putin led to disruptions of natural gas supplies to Europe and increased EU interest in domestic energy sources, including renewables and nuclear power. US President Donald Trump's moves to impose tariffs on EU exports to the US have also led to calls for greater use of products and resources from within Europe.

Witucki agreed that the nuclear energy industry had to help develop a favorable investment environment for new nuclear power capacity. This includes ensuring that EU policies such as the sustainable investment taxonomy "are translated into finance."

The taxonomy is a set of voluntary guidelines to help companies identify sustainable investments in EU countries. In 2022, a proposal to label some nuclear energy investments sustainable was approved, despite opposition from Germany and from European Parliament Green party politicians.

Witucki said recent signs of public and EU support for nuclear energy were "an enormous victory of a rational approach to the energy market. This opportunity will last. We need to prove we are capable of using it."

He said this meant that countries, including Poland, "have to sign contracts and give evidence that nuclear projects will actually run. When the projects appear, we will have youngsters signing up for these jobs."