nucleareurope participates in panel discussion on electrification through renewables and nuclear

​On 15 May, nucleareurope Policy Director Andrei Goicea represented nucleareurope in a panel discussion on electrification through renewables and nuclear, in the framework of the EIT Raw Materials summit 2024.

In his intervention, Andrei called for cooperation between all net-zero technologies for a sustainable long term energy system, insisting that a combination of renewable and nuclear energy is needed to meet European environmental targets.

“We are currently facing an energy trilemma where we have to respond to the greenhouse gas emission reduction target, but also to competitiveness and security of energy supply matters. In this context, cooperation between all net-zero technologies is key to meet the 2050 targets” said Goicea. He highlighted that the nuclear industry across Europe was scaling up to reach these objectives, with the specific goal of 150GW nuclear installed capacity in 2050, set in the Nuclear Alliance statement of 16 May 2023.

Andrei highlighted the key role that European policy initiatives could play in that context, specifying that the Net Zero Industry Act would be instrumental for the areas of skills and the nuclear supply chain. He added that the recent launch of the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs was an essential step forward in the path to deploy the first SMRs in the EU in the early 2030s. The deployment of SMRs could also help European industries, such as the mining sector, to decarbonise and to ensure security of energy supply.

Asked about his expectations from the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act, Andrei explained that uranium was not considered a critical resource, and that the nuclear sector would not be impacted by the CRM Act. He added that among net zero technologies, nuclear was the least raw materials intensive.