nucleareurope discusses financing, stakeholder engagement at ENE2026
On 25 February 2026, nucleareurope Communications and Advocacy Director Jessica Johnson participated in the Stockholm-held European Nuclear Energy 2026 conference, which convened decision-makers, investors, and nuclear energy stakeholders to redefine nuclear’s value in enabling Europe’s net zero future.
As part of the event, Jessica participated in a panel session on financing nuclear at scale, and moderated a featured discussion on stakeholder engagement for the next generation of nuclear projects.
During the panel discussion, Jessica focused on EU levers to stimulate investment in nuclear. She stressed the need to support all net zero technologies equally and remove nuclear exclusion in current EU funds, as well as in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Jessica also discussed the role of Contracts for Difference (CfDs) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) as key enablers for the financing of nuclear.
Jessica further noted that although the inclusion of nuclear in the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy signalled a major policy improvement for the financing of nuclear projects, the exclusion of its fuel cycle can act as a barrier to investments in ramping up European nuclear fuel supply capacity.
Following the panel discussion, Jessica intervened on the topic of public trust and stakeholder engagement, as part of a featured discussion with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Stakeholder Engagement Lead Irena Chatzis.
The discussion focused on evolutions of nuclear perceptions across the world, with Jessica noting a major positive shift in the way people view nuclear in Europe. The reasons behind such a shift were then explored, and both Jessica and Irena highlighted the role of nuclear for energy security and its social and economic impact as key factors driving positive perception of the technology.
Noting the role of effective stakeholder engagement to bolster public trust, Jessica and Irena stressed the importance of engaging all involved actors in the conversation around nuclear, including local and national decision makers, industrial stakeholders and the civil society. They added that as the Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced technologies are moving forward, with some projects potentially located closer to cities than traditional reactors, it will be vital to engage the public early on in the conversation.