Von der Leyen: Europe intends to lead nuclear technology race

The European Commission has prepared a new strategy for deploying small modular reactors in Europe by the early 2030s, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the 2nd World Nuclear Energy Summit held in Paris, Report informs.

According to her, the return to nuclear energy will allow the EU to correct a previous strategic mistake - the voluntary abandonment of this technology in the past.

"The proposed new technology can play a key role alongside traditional nuclear reactors in a flexible, safe, and efficient energy system," von der Leyen stated.

The head of the European Commission outlined three comprehensive measures for implementing the strategy: "First and foremost, this is the simplification of rules based on company testing. The logic is clear: if the technology is safe, it should be easy to deploy across Europe."

Secondly, according to the EC head, investment must be mobilized. To this end, the EC is creating a guarantee of 200 million euros to support private investment in innovative nuclear technologies. Funding will come from the European Emissions Trading System. And finally, the business model of modular reactors requires scale, which means cooperation between European countries.

"The nuclear technology race has begun. But we know that Europe has everything it takes to lead. We have half a million highly skilled workers in the nuclear industry - far more than in the United States and China. We lead in global innovation in modular reactors. And now we have the ambition to move fast and at scale," von der Leyen concluded.