Uranium Core: Why Europe plans to return to nuclear energy
The European Union intends to return to nuclear energy. This was stated by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. She called the reduction of the share of nuclear energy in the EU since the end of the last century a "strategic mistake by the authorities." To revive the industry, the EC intends to create a guarantee fund in the amount of 200 million euros to attract private investors to finance modern technologies in the field of peaceful atom use. However, the development of nuclear generation in Europe will not be a tool to immediately overcome the current energy crisis due to the length of the investment cycle, experts warn. Moreover, in order to implement such a policy, the European Union will have to establish relations with one of the largest suppliers of uranium in the world, Russia. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
Nuclear Winter
The reduction of the share of nuclear energy in the European Union since the end of the last century has been a strategic mistake by the authorities. This statement was made by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in Paris at a conference on peaceful atom issues organized with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). She recalled that in 1990, nuclear power accounted for a third of all electricity in Europe. Now its share is about 15%.
At the same time, as the head of the EC clarified, European electricity prices are too high. And the situation in the Middle East has once again demonstrated Europe's vulnerability to expensive imports.
"Europe produces neither oil nor gas. With regard to fossil fuels, we are completely dependent on expensive and unstable imports, which puts us at a structural disadvantage compared to other regions. The current crisis in the Middle East clearly demonstrates the vulnerability that this creates," von der Leyen stressed.
To address this issue, she announced a "new European strategy for small modular reactors," which is planned to launch the technology by the early 2030s.
However, as the President of the European Commission clarified, after many years of declining investment in nuclear energy, additional investments will be required. To this end, the EC intends to create a guarantee fund in the amount of 200 million euros to attract private investors to finance modern technologies in the field of peaceful atom use. The resources for the fund will come from the current EU emissions trading system.
In search of consensus
Von der Leyen's statement is not the first step towards a peaceful atom that the European Union has taken recently. In July last year, in particular, it became known that the European Commission for the first time proposed to include nuclear energy among the industries eligible for EU financing in the draft budget for 2028-2034. Opinions within the European Union are divided — some countries that previously planned to completely abandon nuclear energy are considering the possibility of canceling this decision. However, there are those who do not plan to change their rhetoric.
Belgium and Italy are among the States that are thinking about returning to a peaceful atom. The latter, in particular, last year introduced a bill on the restoration of the nuclear industry, despite two referendums (1987 and 2011), where citizens opposed it.
In general, Europe is currently divided into two groups with regard to nuclear energy. One of them is the so—called nuclear alliance led by France. It includes countries that already use nuclear energy and potential producers such as Poland, Croatia and Estonia.
On the other side is a group focused exclusively on renewable energy sources. Germany has the toughest position here, and it is also supported by Portugal and Austria, which pursue similar national policies.
Speaking about the peaceful atom, the German authorities demonstrate an ambiguous position. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, commenting on the statement of the head of the European Commission, noted that he shares the opinion that reducing the share of nuclear energy in Europe is wrong. But he stressed that Germany's decision to abandon it is not subject to revision. At the same time, he acknowledged the need to reduce energy prices, suggesting that this could be achieved by increasing supply on the market.
However, in mid-January of this year, Merz himself called the abandonment of nuclear energy a serious strategic mistake. In his address to business representatives, the German Chancellor pointed out the need to build nuclear power plants in the country, recalling that Germany's energy transition has become the most expensive in the world.
Critical vulnerability
The statement by the President of the European Commission marks a significant shift in the energy policy of the European Union and requires analysis from the point of view of the energy business and industrial competitiveness, said Mikhail Akim, professor at the Higher School of Business at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. In his opinion, the return of the focus to the peaceful atom is due to structural factors rather than the short-term geopolitical situation.
— The European Union, which does not have significant hydrocarbon reserves of its own, objectively depends on their imports. The current crisis in the Middle East, according to von der Leyen, serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability that this energy dependence creates.
However, the key reason, according to him, lies deeper: the energy supply model, based solely on renewable energy sources, faces physical limitations. Wind and solar generation are unstable and weather-dependent, and without the construction of large-scale energy storage systems and appropriate network infrastructure, they cannot guarantee coverage of the base load.
"In this configuration, nuclear power is considered as a necessary component that ensures reliability and round—the—clock availability of electricity generation," the Izvestia interlocutor clarifies.
The European Union has set itself the task of moving away from traditional energy sources by 2030-2035, completely abandoning oil, coal and gas, recalls Inna Litvinenko, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of Economics and Management at the Russian State University of Social Technologies. But, as practice has shown, the EU has approached this issue too thoughtlessly, without preparing a system of alternative energy sources.
— Now Europe is facing another round of the energy crisis, having become dependent on rising prices and a narrowing of supply in the market of traditional energy carriers. This suggests that the European economy is still completely dependent on traditional energy sources, which allow the EU to somehow save money and overcome unemployment, company bankruptcies and the economic crisis. Therefore, here and now Europe is facing a choice, otherwise it faces an integration split, the economist warns.
The abrupt change of vector in the case of nuclear energy is largely due to the consistent implementation by Europe of another strategic mistake, which is the abandonment of Russian energy resources, says Sergey Chuev, Head of the Department of State and Municipal Management at the State University of Management.
— While gas and oil were regularly piped from Russia, and a project was underway to increase supplies along the Nord Stream branches, Europe was living in euphoria from relatively cheap fuel and could easily invest in green energy. Now it has become obvious that in the absence of supplies from Russia under long—term contracts, Europe has become extremely dependent on oil and gas imports from other sources and vulnerable to energy prices," explains Olga Orlova, head of the Industry department at the Institute of Oil and Gas Technologies.
Once again, the crisis in the Middle East has highlighted this vulnerability, Chuev believes. Already, industrial enterprises in the EU are forced to suspend, or even completely shut down their activities, or transfer capacities to other countries.
At the same time, the high cost of labor in Europe requires maximum utilization of production capacities, which makes energy supply a critical factor of competitiveness, the Akim draws attention to. Representatives of the eurozone's industrial sector, according to the European Central Bank, are recording a loss of market shares in both domestic and foreign markets amid "intensified competition." High energy and labor costs are cited as key factors.
"The energy crisis has led to a significant increase in the cost of electricity in the EU, which has further worsened the price positions of European producers compared to Chinese ones, where wages and energy costs remain significantly lower," the expert points out.
Chuev sees Germany as the country most affected by the green agenda lobbied by the EU. And even the closure of a number of enterprises in Germany does not lead to a change in the authorities' strategies regarding the atom and energy supplies from Russia.
The example of Germany, which has closed all its nuclear projects, is very significant, confirms Orlova. Germany currently imports electricity from French nuclear power plants. And it is France that can become the main beneficiary of the new plan for the development of nuclear energy, since this country already has the infrastructure, specialists and experience.
"In any case, the revision of the European Commission's positions on energy proves once again that either the European authorities are not guided by the national interests of Europe and are being led by the globalist elite, which imposes decisions on them that are not in favor of Europeans, or the countries are simply led by narrow—minded people," Chuev emphasizes.
Work on bugs
According to Mikhail Akim, the development of nuclear generation in Europe is not a tool for immediately overcoming the current energy crisis due to the length of the investment cycle. Given the payback period for nuclear projects (15-20 years), attracting private capital will require not only guarantees, but also the unification of regulatory requirements.
— The EU's decision should be seen as a response to the structural challenge to the long-term competitiveness of European industry. Nuclear energy is designed to provide a reliable base load necessary for the operation of enterprises requiring uninterrupted access to energy in an environment where labor costs and overhead costs in the EU are uncompetitive compared to China, the expert believes.
At the same time, the success of the initiative will depend on the EU's ability to mobilize private investment on a scale comparable to China's government programs and maintain the technological leadership of European engineering companies, he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, as well as President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen with heads of State and Government during the IAEA Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris
In her speech, von der Leyen has already emphasized the potential of low-power reactors as a possible high-tech export product of Europe, Akim recalls. However, the announced funding volume of 200 million euros seems extremely limited in comparison with the scale of the tasks.
"This amount can serve as a signal to the market and, possibly, a risk reduction tool for private venture investors, but it cannot be considered as significant for the full—scale deployment of at least innovative activity in the industry," the Izvestia interlocutor believes.
The nuclear industry is not formed in months or weeks, it takes years of serious work and large investments of hundreds of billions of euros, warns Sergey Chuev.
— Therefore, decades of implementing the green agenda will lead to a crisis in Europe that will drag on for several years. In addition, it will be necessary to find money somewhere, and there simply is no money in the leaky budget of European countries, since the EC is in a situation of economic stagnation," he emphasizes.
The nuclear power industry is huge in terms of initial investments, long construction time and long payback period, Olga Orlova agrees.
"And investors who have learned from bitter experience cannot be sure that the agenda will not change direction again at any moment, this time against peaceful atom, just as it was in the past," the expert points out.
The strained relations with Russia, which produces about 15-20% of all uranium reserves and has almost half of the world's enrichment capacity, create an additional difficulty, adds Chuev.
— And judging by the statements of the same Ursula von der Leyen, Europe is not yet ready to return to restoring relations with the Russian Federation on the supply of basic resources, including uranium. And whether Niger's resources will be enough to resume nuclear energy in the EU is a big question," Inna Litvinenko draws attention.
Sooner or later, Europe will have to take a course to restore relations with Russia, because Russia is closer logistically, and it has established supply and settlement routes in the past that can be resumed in a short time, the economist expects. In this case, the European Union will be forced to lift anti-Russian sanctions on a number of key issues.
— Europe will have to reconsider its position. She should understand that the economic growth of the 90s and 2000s was based on partnership with Russia. And here, of course, it will be necessary to fundamentally rethink many of the approaches that have been voiced in recent years," confirms Chuev.
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