The European Parliament’s Industry, Research, and Energy (ITRE) Committee has adopted a resolution to support the development of small nuclear reactors (SMRs) across the EU in order to help countries further reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, complement existing nuclear and renewable power plants, and contribute to Europe’s future energy security.
The resolution calls on the Commission to create and finance a specific industrial strategy for SMR development, while asking the Council to “demonstrate a firm commitment” to the technology’s successful deployment in the EU.
The report was adopted by 40 votes in favor, 9 against, and 6 abstentions. As expected, all opposition came from the left side of the chamber, despite the EPP’s report making a clear case to demonstrate nuclear energy’s overall safety and environmental sustainability.
What are SMRs?
Thanks to the tireless lobbying of the so-called ‘nuclear coalition’—a group of EU countries pushing for more nuclear power amid Europe’s green transition—the European Commission and the Parliament finally appear to listen as the last decades’ relentless anti-nuclear crusade is subsiding to allow a more investment-friendly environment for nuclear energy in Europe.
Building traditional large nuclear reactors, however, takes a lot of time, and that is a luxury few countries can afford if they want to keep pace with Brussels’s ever-growing decarbonization demands. This is where small modular reactors (SMRs) come in as potent complementary technology that might play a key role in reaching ambitious climate targets while not compromising the energy security of Europeans.
SMRs represent a new, innovative branch of nuclear power generation that is already on the way to revolutionizing the entire industry. SMRs are much cheaper and quicker to construct, more cost-effective to maintain, have smaller environmental footprints, and are generally considered safer than traditional reactors.
Furthermore, next-generation small reactors, often referred to as advanced modular reactors (AMRs)—using liquid metal or molten salt instead of light water as coolant—have the potential to turn nuclear waste into fuel again, theoretically rendering the future power plants nearly self-sustainable.
SMRs in Europe
Although the technology has been discussed in Brussels for years, the European Commission really began to focus on SMRs earlier this year, organizing the first EU workshop on the topic that brought together lawmakers, financiers, and industry representatives in June 2023.
Earlier this month, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson not only reinforced the Commission’s support for SMR development but also promised to begin the preparatory work toward launching a so-called ‘Industrial Alliance’ to help boost the roll-out of the technology from Brussels—even if no timeline to this project was given.
The vagueness is understandable, given Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s reluctance to back the nuclear agenda. The Commission chief is trying to appeal to both sides of the divide—not recognizing that the anti-nuclear governments are already a minority in Europe—and has repeatedly said she does not consider nuclear power as a “strategic” technology for decarbonization.
Nevertheless, some countries are already ahead of the Commission, as Belgium, Romania, and Italy recently joined the U.S. in establishing a research and development consortium on lead-cooled SMRs, with the aim of making the technology commercially available for every European country within the next decade. Others, such as France, are doing R&D on their own and looking to have viable models by the end of the decade.
Why is the Parliament’s vote important?
After passing in the next plenary, the European Parliament’s own-initiative report will send a resolution to the Commission, calling for the “development of a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of SMRs in the EU,” along with direct financial support from Brussels to help member states begin production.
By demonstrating their support for nuclear energy and SMRs, the MEPs hope that this report will prompt the Commission to speed up the regulatory work in the area and provide real assistance to the industry.
In order to help Europe in its struggle to decarbonize, SMR development must start as early as possible—no time for the Commission to drag out the process while continuing to push for renewables.
“As an innovation, SMRs are really a solution to have affordable and reliable energy, because we see that renewables, like wind and solar, are simply not working,” the report’s shadow rapporteur, MEP Rob Roos (ECR) told The European Conservative.
With the solar and wind industry continuously on the verge of bankruptcy and needing billions of government assistance just to stay afloat, “renewables essentially run on subsidies, and that’s not sustainable,” Roos explained. SMRs, on the other hand, have a much higher energy output, take up much less space, thus preserving the environment, and are economically viable for the long term.
“There is enough uranium fuel for a thousand years,” Roos said, “but the next generation, or AMRs, will even be able to use their own waste as fuel, becoming self-sustainable with virtually no radioactive byproducts.”
This is why the official was glad the report enjoyed the widespread support of the political parties, with the exception of a few leftist MEPs. “The Left is very dogmatic in this. They’d rather say there is no climate crisis than to say we have to use nuclear energy,” Roos remarked. “Also, it’s because they want de-growth, and that’s not possible with nuclear [power] providing an abundance of affordable energy for Europe.”
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Is Nuclear the New Green?
The Left says reducing emissions is all-important, yet refuses to endorse the one form of energy production that is both powerful and carbon-efficient. Is their stance about science—or ideology?
Join The European Conservative at our next event on December 6th at the Stanhope Hotel in Brussels to be part of an exciting discussion about nuclear power, the myths surrounding it, its role in geopolitics, and much more.The event is free and open to the public, but registration is compulsory.
