The Commission set up a European SMR pre-Partnership in June with the overall objective of identifying enabling conditions and constraints, including financial ones, towards safe design, construction and operation of SMRs in Europe in the next decade and beyond in compliance with the EU legislative framework in general and to the Euratom legislative framework in particular.

The new partnership builds on a long history of collaborative efforts in fusion energy research and development, supported predominantly in the US through the DOE Office of Science’s Fusion Energy Sciences programme and in the UK through the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

Many oil and gas, drilling, and extraction operations take place in remote locations, and in many cases, it is not possible for these processes to be fuelled by electricity from the grid. It is here that microreactors (MRs) or small modular reactors (SMRs) could provide a low carbon alternative.

The reactor complex will allow Bolivia to conduct fundamental and applied scientific research, which will support development of a number of economic sectors, including the lithium industry.

The EU’s 27 members are divided. Central and eastern European countries that have their own nuclear expansion ambitions are supporting France while non-nuclear powers including Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria, are backing Germany.

The board of directors of Orano has approved an investment of some EUR1.7 billion (USD1.8 billion) to raise the production capacity of the Georges Besse II (GB-II) uranium enrichment plant at the Tricastin site in southern France by more than 30%.

Besides climate change, amid today’s geopolitical challenges, countries increasingly recognize that nuclear energy is a key contributor to the security of energy supply.

Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire faced a difficult decision between maintaining France as an attractive investment destination and maintaining sovereignty over strategic technology, but finally decided to veto the takeover.

"Building on the collaboration in April in Sapporo, Japan, during the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers meeting and Business Forum, we stand ready to work together with policymakers to rebuild leadership in nuclear energy within OECD countries and to cooperate with other like-minded nations as they seek to meet their climate and energy security goals."

“Any sudden changes to LNG supply or demand in Asia or the Americas could easily have a domino effect into Britain and Europe.”