nucleareurope presents key developments on nuclear at Bulatom Annual Conference
From 5 to 7 June 2024, the Bulgarian Atomic Forum (Bulatom) organised its 2024 Annual Conference. The event included a wide range of interventions from high level speakers from the Bulgarian government, diplomatic corps, European institutions and industry. On this occasion, Guillherme Cardoso, nucleareurope Technology Advisor, gave participants an overview of nuclear energy in Europe, and specifically of nucleareurope’s role in promoting nuclear in the EU.
During his intervention, Guillherme first presented a state of play of nuclear developments in Europe, noting that each year the nuclear industry maintains 1 million jobs in Europe, and generates over €100 billion in EU GDP. As of today, nuclear represents almost 50% of the EU’s low-carbon electricity, and is increasingly recognised as instrumental in the transition to net zero.
“We are witnessing an important political shift on nuclear in Europe, with an increasing number of political parties now advocating for nuclear” said Guillherme, observing that parties across Europe were recognising the benefits of nuclear in the face of the energy trilemma, thanks to its production of clean, affordable and secure energy. With the balance of power in the EU shifting in favour of nuclear energy, nucleareurope promotes an increased ambition for Europe’s nuclear future, envisioning a scenario of 150GW of installed nuclear capacity in 2050, thanks to the lifetime extension of existing nuclear power plants, nuclear new build, and the deployment of the first SMRs in Europe in the 2030s.
To reach this objective, the recently launched European Industrial Alliance on SMRs will be instrumental, and nucleareurope will play a pivotal role in the Alliance’s activities as a permanent member of its governing board, along with SNETP and the European Commission. The Alliance recently marked the official launch of its activities at its first General Assembly held on 29 and 30 May and will produce its first deliverables in the form of a technology roadmap planned for the fourth quarter of 2024, and a strategic action plan to be released in the first quarter of 2025.