Klima-, Energi- og Forsyningsudvalget 2023-24
KEF Alm.del Bilag 69
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HEARING ON NUCLEAR POWER
DANISH PARLIAMENT, 16 November 2023
(online meeting)
Presentation (speech) of the European Commission
Presenter:
Dr Stephan Lechner
Director for Euratom Safeguards,
Directorate General for Energy,
European Commission
Timeframe:
Thursday, 16 November 2023 from 13:40 to 14:25
Title of the presentation:
Nuclear energy in the EU:
State of play, challenges and opportunities
to contribute to the delivery on key energy policy aspects -
decarbonisation,
security and affordability of power supply,
and EU technological leadership
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Speech
(Check against delivery)
[Intro]
•
Dear Honourable members of the Parliament, it is my great honour
to be here and discuss with you the current state-of-play of the
nuclear energy in the EU, the opportunities and challenges related
to nuclear energy, as well as its role in the wider energy context.
•
As you are very well aware, in the EU, the use of nuclear energy is
solely a national choice, and Member States remain fully competent
in deciding their own energy mix.
•
The European Commission’s long-standing position is to be
technology neutral, as long as technologies chosen by the Member
States guarantee the highest level of safety for the EU citizens. The
application of the highest safety standards in all steps of the nuclear
life cycle remains a key pre-requisite for the use of nuclear power in
the EU, including with regard to the development of new
technologies.
•
Today, particularly in the EU, we are witnessing a
renewed interest
in nuclear energy
that is driven by three factors:
1) Decarbonisation:
ambitious climate and energy targets
in line
with the Paris Agreement call for strong commitment to deliver,
using all available low-carbon technologies and solutions;
2)
Need to ensure
security of power supply and affordability
reinforced by the current geopolitical situation; and
3)
Strong need to keep our
technological leadership and
continue
building our
strategic energy autonomy,
which involves also the
enhancing of skills and the active support for research.
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•
Let me expand on each of these while stressing that our
commitment to nuclear safety remains unchanged and no future use
of nuclear can be contemplated without continued and strict
adherence to the highest levels of nuclear safety which Europe has
maintained over decades thanks to a robust regulatory framework
developed under the Euratom Treaty:
[1. Climate and energy targets, European nuclear ecosystem]
•
On the eve of the COP28 in Dubai,
climate change remains one
of the most significant challenges.
The EU has already set its
own climate framework. Several EU Member States acknowledge
that the ambitious targets to reach
climate neutrality by 2050
and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030
require
contribution of all low-carbon sources, including
nuclear.
Over the past 50 years, nuclear power has been playing a key role
in those Member-States which relied on it. Today
100 reactors
(installed capacity of 97 GWe) in operation in 12 Member-
States
provide about
35% of the low-carbon
and
22% of EU’s
total electricity generation.
Two reactors have been
commissioned recently in Finland (Olkiluoto 3) and Slovakia
(Mochovce 3) and two more are expected to come online in the
near future (Flamanville in France, Mochovce 4 in Slovakia) while
other constructions are under way (Paks II in Hungary) or in
preparation.
Factors such as the Russian aggression against Ukraine,
dynamics of the global energy markets and
geopolitical
instability impacted the national energy policies accelerating
the clean energy transition in Europe.
•
•
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•
This trend is also evidenced by the information provided by
Member States in their updated draft National Energy and Climate
Plans.
However,
I would like to stress
again
that the use of nuclear
energy is solely a national choice,
and
Member States remain
fully sovereign in deciding their own energy mix in
accordance with the provisions of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the EU.
The Commission recognizes the role nuclear energy can play in
our decarbonization efforts while it also recognizes that only some
Member States wish to make use of it and complement with it their
plans for renewable energies in line with agreed EU targets.
Our objective is to ensure that the policy debate in Europe on
decarbonization paths and on the future shape of the EU’s energy
system
brings everybody together
– and
does not create
divisions
between different low-carbon technologies. The
decarbonization challenge is a mighty one and Europe will need all
low-carbon sources to play their role while fully respecting each
Member State’s right to decide on the sources in its energy mix.
•
•
•
•
The EU relies for achieving its targets on a well-functioning and
secure internal energy market,
fit for decarbonisation and for
innovation.
•
Just a month ago [on
the 17 October]
EU energy ministers adopted
their position on the Commission’s proposal to improve the internal
Electricity Market Design and further protect EU households and
SMEs from energy price vulnerability. While the proposal focuses
mainly on achieving a high level of renewable energy, it explicitly
recognises the role of nuclear power. The proposed Electricity
Market Design tools (Contracts for Difference and Power Purchase
Agreements)
are designed to be equally accessible for both
existing and new projects in nuclear and in renewables.
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•
As you are certainly aware, the Commission has also defined the
criteria for sustainable investments in nuclear energy activities
under the
Taxonomy Complementary Delegated Act or the Net-
Zero Industry Act (NZIA) proposal.
•
To assess the
fitness of the EU nuclear energy ecosystem,
the
Commission also launched a study involving stakeholders from
nuclear industry, research organisations and education. The
publication of the results is foreseen for early 2024 and will serve as
a foundation for discussions on appropriate measures at both
national and EU levels. The preliminary outcomes together with
recommendations were presented and discussed at the last
European Nuclear Energy Forum meeting that took place on 6-7
November in Bratislava, bringing together all stakeholders
interested in nuclear energy.
[2. Security of supply, diversification across the nuclear value chain]
•
When it comes to the security of power supply and affordability,
nuclear in the EU has a specific set of challenges.
•
Almost two years into the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the
EU has acted to reduce the high energy dependency on Russia,
in line with the Commission’s REPowerEU Plan.
•
In the nuclear energy sector,
five utilities from the concerned
Member States
(Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, Hungary, and
Slovakia) which operate Russian designed reactors
have made
progress to diversify fuels.
Four of them have signed contracts
with alternative suppliers.
•
Alternative fuels are now to be delivered for the VVER-1000
type
of Russian designed reactors. A
licensing process is ongoing for
the VVER-440 reactor fuel
which has already been loaded for the
first time at the Rivne plant in Ukraine.
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•
The Commission is now assessing any potential
additional
dependencies,
notably related to
spare parts, components and
maintenance services for Russian-designed reactors.
It is key
to evaluate well the possible impact of any such dependencies and
address them timely.
•
Finally on this matter, no less disturbing is the
western
dependency on Russia for nuclear fuel services,
such as
conversion and enrichment.
•
To address the issue of conversion and enrichment services, we are
working with our EU industrial operators as well as with international
partners to increase alternative capacity.
[3.Technological leadership, advanced nuclear technologies, in
particular SMRs, skills, research]
•
The last focus area is preservation of European technological
leadership in the nuclear industry, and the direction in which we wish
to steer development of this industry.
•
The challenges we must tackle require
continued development of
climate-friendly, reliable and independent energy
offers.
Advanced nuclear technologies
are part of it.
•
Several utilities, industrial actors, research organisations and public
authorities from at least 10 Member States have shown interest in
new nuclear technologies such as
small and modular reactors
(SMRs) both for production of decarbonised electricity and
other energy products,
as industrial and district heating, and
hydrogen.
•
SMRs should represent an opportunity to support
high penetration
of renewables and contribute to the decarbonisation of hard-
to-abate sectors,
such as transport, chemical and steel industry,
and district heating, as well as to
maintain workforce and jobs
in
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the energy sector where other jobs might disappear (from closing
coal-fired plants for example).
•
At EU level, the Commission has been actively facilitating the
process of setting up a European SMR Partnership since beginning
of 2022. A broad support from stakeholders was confirmed at a
dedicated
Forum in Brussels on 26 October.
•
On 6 November 2023, on occasion of the European Nuclear Energy
Forum, the EU energy Commissioner, Ms Kadri Simson had an
opportunity to discuss in detail with European Industry
representatives the readiness of launching a
European SMR
Industrial Alliance.
Acknowledging the wide stakeholder support
for setting up this Alliance, the Commissioner announced that she
will work towards its establishment in the earliest possible
timeframe.
•
In the next decades, the nuclear energy sector and various uses of
nuclear energy will require
highly educated staff
with very specific
skills, knowledge and competences.
•
In this perspective, the Commission has set up a
number of
initiatives,
such as the EU European Human Resources
Observatory for the Nuclear Energy Sector, or measures introduced
in the Net Zero Industry Act.
•
The
Euratom Research and Training Programme
is the EU key
tool to coordinate nuclear research. In the current multiannual
budget, it offers €1.38 billion.
•
All these EU initiatives are being complemented by national ones.
•
A
notable part of EU research is also dedicated to fusion
energy. Fusion has the potential to provide a major contribution to
sustaining climate neutrality on economically favourable terms after
2050.
•
Our
flagship fusion energy project,
ITER, which is the largest of
its kind in the world, is key to getting this new technology up and
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running and this is why the EU together with international partners
is strongly engaged in ITER.
•
The overall investment in fusion technology, and in particular in
ITER, aims at creating a new source of energy,
in full respect of
the national energy mix decided by each Member State.
•
Let me conclude by reiterating that the use of nuclear energy is
solely a
national choice,
and Member States remain
fully
competent in deciding their own energy mix.
The European
Commission’s long-standing position is to be technology neutral, as
long as technologies chosen by the Member States guarantee the
highest level of safety for the EU citizens. For this, the use of best
available technology needs to be ensured in any case, together with
continuous improvement as far as reasonably practicable.
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