Czechia and France to cooperate on financing nuclear energy projects

The Czech Republic will cooperate with France on financing joint projects in nuclear energy. This follows from a new agreement concluded between the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA ČR) and the French National Research Agency (ANR). The agreement was signed during the Prague visit of French Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

Minister Pannier-Runacher discussed energy transition issues with her Czech counterpart, Minister of Trade and Industry Jozef Síkela, particularly the role of nuclear energy in decarbonisation and in ensuring the energy security of not only the Czech Republic and France, but all of Europe. Both ministers declared that France and Czechia would continue to cooperate in promoting suitable conditions for the development of nuclear energy in the EU.

“The relationship with the Czech Republic is strategic for France. Our countries are important players in the European nuclear sector, as well as in energy and industry. At European level, Minister Síkela and I work very closely together to defend this energy source and its central role in the low-carbon energy mix within the Nuclear Alliance,” said Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher after the meeting. “Our goal is to continue this work so that the next European Commission genuinely treats nuclear energy and renewable energy sources equally, as two essential and complementary means of achieving our climate goals.”

The ceremonial signing of the agreement between TA ČR and ANR took place on 9 January at the French Embassy in Prague, in the presence of TA ČR Chairman Petr Konvalinka and ANR President Thierry Damerval. The agreement paves the way for Czech-French applied research projects in nuclear energy and low-carbon technologies. Further negotiations on the terms of cooperation will now follow, with the aim of launching the first specific calls this year. The French side has committed to allocating one million euros annually for research projects.

Czechia and France have been long-standing partners in nuclear research and education. France’s CEA (Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), for example, cooperates with the Nuclear Research Institute in Řež and with the Czech Academy of Sciences. Grant programmes facilitate internships and work placements for scientists from both countries. French nuclear experts also regularly travel to Czechia to give lectures.

In 2023, the French Embassy in Prague and EDF established the Czech-French Nuclear Academy. It is a comprehensive platform for education and research that will offer joint Czech-French educational and scientific programmes at universities, secondary schools and research institutions, while also focusing on vocational education and retraining.