Nuclear power is part of climate neutrality, De Croo said at nuclear energy summit

Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 will require human ingenuity, according to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. He said nuclear power would be part of that effort. As prime minister of the host country, De Croo today opened the first World Nuclear Energy Summit, hosted by Belgium together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Czechia is represented at the summit by Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Industry Minister Jozef Síkela.

„In today's world, nuclear power is not a prospect for the future, a plan or a utopian vision. Nuclear power already provides 25 percent of all clean energy generated worldwide; here in the European Union, it accounts for half. But we will need more,“ IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at the opening of the summit.

Nuclear energy in Europe fell out of favour to some extent after the 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima power plant, Reuters reports. In response to the disaster, Germany shut down eight nuclear reactors and pledged to gradually switch off the rest, completing the process last April.

The debate on developing nuclear power plants was revived by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the need to find a replacement for Russian gas, alongside the EU's ambition to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels and achieve climate neutrality by the middle of the century.

„Renewables will play a huge role in electricity generation, especially solar power, supported by wind and hydropower. But we also need nuclear energy, particularly in countries that do not have as much potential (to generate energy from renewables),“ International Energy Agency (IEA) head Fatih Birol said today before the summit began.

Czechia is currently preparing to build new nuclear reactors. A tender was originally launched for the construction of one unit at Dukovany, with bids submitted by France's EDF, South Korea's KHNP and US company Westinghouse. The bids also included non-binding options for additional reactors. After analysing the bids, the government invited EDF and KHNP in January this year to submit binding offers to build up to four new reactors at Dukovany and Temelín. The companies have until mid-April. Westinghouse is no longer in the competition. The contract with the selected supplier is expected to be signed around the turn of 2024 and 2025, and the first reactor is due to start operating in 2036.

Europe will also need to support a new generation of nuclear scientists and develop research, Reuters notes.

A joint statement is expected at the end of today's summit. According to a draft document seen by Reuters, it will include a commitment to „fully unleash the potential of nuclear power“, including through „competitive financing“ for reactors already in operation to extend their lifetimes.