The Brussels Summit was the culmination of nuclear energy acceptance

Nuclear acceptance is on an upward trajectory in Europe. The Summit on nuclear topics in Brussels, the very heart of EU, can be seen as a good example of this.

One occasion highlighting the change was the vote taken in the European Parliament at the turn of the year on an own-initiative report aiming at the promotion of the SMR technology. The report was supported by 409 MEPs and opposed by 173. In other words: a historically large majority, up to 70% of the votes cast were in favour of nuclear energy. Going back just one decade this result would have been unimaginable.

High-profile names

The Brussels Summit was the first summit focusing exclusively on nuclear energy. It was summoned by the Belgian Premier Alexander De Croon and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi. The first observation in the morning on the day of the Summit was the crowd of protestors making noise in the courtyard – but as befits the current spirit, they were shouting for nuclear power.

The exceptional atmosphere carried through to the actual Summit. Presidents, prime ministers, and other high-level representatives from tens of countries took to the stage one by one to stress the significance of nuclear power. The Finnish Premier Petteri Orpo also brought up the benefits of nuclear power and how it can be used in the future in the production of heat and hydrogen as well. Orpo also pointed out the pioneering role of Finland in final disposal. Olkiluoto also received great visibility at the event when TVO's HR and Communications Director, Jaana Isotalo, and Posiva's Research Director, Tiina Jalonen, took the stage. Isotalo, for example, explained the role of the Finnish Mankala model in the clean transition, while Jalonen talked about the progress of Posiva's disposal project.

New investments are needed

For me personally, one of the highlights of the Summit was the presentation of Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission from Germany. She is also a strong candidate to head the new Commission. In her presentation, she pointed out that the proportion of nuclear in the European energy production is actually declining and that new investments are the key to stopping the negative development. According to Von der Leyen, this calls for “support from governments” to ensure that financing is available and that “nuclear’s contribution to electricity security is properly remunerated”. The use of nuclear for other potential purposes, in addition to electricity production, such as heating or in aid of hydrogen economy, is a part of the solution to secure the future of nuclear and to reinforce the acceptance of nuclear power.

Important message

Von der Leyen stressed also the importance of lifetime extensions for existing nuclear power plants. She mentioned that this is one of the cheapest ways to increase energy production and urged countries to consider their options carefully before excluding lifetime extensions from them. This is something we can easily agree with in Finland. Fortum has already announced it will extend the service life of the two nuclear power plants in Loviisa and the same question is currently being researched also here in Olkiluoto.

Apart from politicians, the familiar but important message was brought to us also by the Executive Director of IAEA, Fatih Birol, who stated that “without the support of nuclear power, we have no chance to reach our climate targets on time”. It is easy to agree on this.

This text is written by Juha Poikola, Manager of Public Relations in the TVO Group.

Photo: Juha Poikola