Nuclear energy is once again at the center of fierce debate between European leaders as a new energy crisis sweeps the world, leaving the import-dependent European Union scrambling for alternative energy sources. The bloc still imports more than half of its energy needs, leaving it extremely vulnerable to global market shocks, like the unprecedented interruption to oil and gas supplies currently taking place in the Strait of Hormuz as the United States and Israel continue to wage war with Iran. In order to keep the lights on and prevent huge numbers of the European population from sliding into energy poverty, Europe may have no choice but to turn to nuclear energy.
The European Commission – the executive body for the European Union – has presented a number of new nuclear energy initiatives as part of its strategy to address the unfolding crisis, presenting a pivot from Europe’s former transition away from nuclear energy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has doubled down on this reversal, saying “I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power” at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris on 10 March.
Nuclear has long been a topic of serious debate among European leaders. Most of the bloc has moved away from nuclear energy, with Germany leading an anti-nuclear charge. France, on the other hand, has remained a vocal proponent of the carbon-free energy source, and generates about 65% of its electricity from nuclear power. But even the most staunch nuclear opponents have been thawing on nuclear energy in recent years as the energy form gains traction as a win-win for energy security (and particularly European energy independence) as well as climate goals.
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This pivot started even before Europe “sleepwalked into yet another energy crisis.” Last year, the governments of Italy and Denmark made inroads toward overturning their decades-old bans on nuclear power production, while Spain indicated a new openness to reconsidering the phase-out of its nuclear plants. Amazingly, even Germany agreed to drop its opposition to nuclear power in European Union legislation, in unprecedented cooperation with France on the historically contentious topic. A German official recognized the move as “a sea-change policy shift” that will ease the removal of roadblocks and increase efficiency in energy policymaking within the European Union.
We’re seeing some of the results of that shift now, with the European Commission’s open embrace of nuclear energy in its energy crisis strategy. A huge part of the region’s attitude shift toward nuclear, and of its outlined nuclear strategy, is the emergence of small modular reactors (SMRs), an up-and-coming technology that promises to make nuclear safer, cheaper, and more efficient to deploy at scale. Indeed, just this month, a €330 million nuclear energy investment package has been unveiled as part of the 2026–2027 Euratom Research and Training Programme, with strong support for SMRs.
The European Commission has announced plans to bring SMRs online as soon as the early 2030s, with the aim to scale capacity to between 17 GW and 53 GW by 2050. “The Commission has vowed to cut red tape through streamlined permitting and to provide financial guarantees to speed deployment,” reads a recent Euro News report. “Eleven EU member states have already endorsed a joint declaration backing the technology.”
Europe is also increasingly investing in nuclear fusion research and development. A whopping €222 million of the Commission’s funding earmarked for nuclear research will be directed toward fusion energy, “highlighting the EU’s ambition to bring the first commercial fusion power plant online” according to an EE News Europe report. Amazingly, Germany is a frontrunner in the race for nuclear fusion – which, unlike nuclear fission, produces no radioactive waste – and may even be on track to be the first country in the world to bring a commercially viable fusion reactor online.
By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com