nucleareurope discusses 2050 perspectives at Piedmont region event on nuclear

On 10 February 2025, nucleareurope Policy Director Andrei Goicea participated in a panel discussion on global evolutions in the nuclear sector, in the framework of a Turin held event on industry trends and international business opportunities for nuclear power, organised by the Piedmont Region Agency for Investments, Export, and Tourism.

In his intervention, Andrei gave an overview of current perspectives for the development of the nuclear sector in the EU. He highlighted that in the past year, nuclear was the primary source of power generation in the EU, accounting for almost a quarter of total electricity production. He added that nuclear currently supports over a million European jobs and fosters industrial competitiveness. Beyond power applications, nuclear energy is also set to play a key role in supporting clean hydrogen and decarbonised heat production.

“With more nuclear, the EU can decarbonise faster and at lower cost, while ensuring security of supply and maintaining its competitiveness. Many European countries have understood this and announced increased targets for nuclear capacity, in line with the Nuclear Alliance objective of reaching 150 gigawatt (GW) of nuclear installed capacity in the EU by 2050.” said Andrei, noting that all nuclear technologies – from lifetime extension of existing reactors to large and small new build – will be necessary to reach this objective.

Andrei then stressed that a technology neutral legislative framework at the European level is essential to incentivise investments, address the skills issue and encourage the development of a European nuclear supply chain. He concluded by highlighting that all clean technologies will be needed to reach net-zero, and that cherry picking some technologies over others could hinder the European energy transition.