nucleareurope highlights importance of nuclear for European energy system at EUSEW 2026
On 11 June 2026, in the framework of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), nucleareurope participated in a panel discussion and co-organised a session to highlight the role of nuclear in the European energy system.
In the morning, nucleareurope Communications & Advocacy Director Jessica Johnson participated in a session organised by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), entitled “Stress-testing Europe’s energy transition: managing risk, affordability and security”. She insisted on the importance of building a resilient energy system with a diversified mix of net-zero energy sources, and highlighted the need for technology neutral policies to build such a system.
Following Jessica’s intervention in the morning, nucleareurope co-organised a panel discussion in the afternoon, exploring how the strategic autonomy of the nuclear sector can be ensured. nucleareurope was represented by its Policy Committee Chair and Fortum Vice President for Corporate Public Affairs Merja Paavola. Other panellists included European Commission’s Jan Panek, Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNETP)’s Bernard Salha and Women in Nuclear (WiN) Spain’s Amparo Soler.
Panellists first explored the question of upcoming nuclear investments, with Merja noting that installed nuclear capacity in the EU is projected to grow from around 100 Gigawatts (GW) today to close to 150 GW by 2050. She further stressed that these investments be necessary for lifetime extension of existing reactors, large new build as well as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
Welcoming recent positive steps in the political discourse around nuclear, Merja however highlighted the need for concrete policy action to support the development of the sector, she specifically addressed the question of the recognition of hydrogen produced with nuclear, the inclusion of nuclear in data centres sustainability labels, as well as access to EU funds for nuclear.
The discussion also allowed to explore topics related to the nuclear supply chain, and its importance for European competitiveness and energy sovereignty. Merja stressed that nuclear is one of the few net-zero value chains almost entirely based in Europe, with over 5500 companies operating across the continent, as demonstrated by nucleareurope’s supply chain mapping tool.