From 1-3 July 2024, newcleo will be participating at the Global Energy Transition Congress and Exhibition taking place in Milan.

newcleo CEO, Stefano Buono will be speaking on a panel ‘Ambition and reality: Nuclear, renewables and the business case conundrum. Ahead of this important event, Mr Buono outlines his case for the role nuclear can play in achieving net zero ambitions.

“I deeply believe that, as we face the biggest energy crisis of a generation and the worldwide imperative to combat climate change, nuclear is poised to play a significant and necessary role in keeping the lights on and decarbonising our economies.

However, now we are talking about nuclear with a difference.

After 80 years of industrial application, we now have a new nuclear alternative - Small or Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs/AMRs). Their reduced scale and off-site manufacturability can alleviate the considerable expenses and extended timelines linked to large-scale reactors. This, in turn, reduces financial risk by simplifying commercial deployment, and creates a more attractive prospect for significant private sector funding.

The contribution SMRs could make to creating a competitive energy mix for Europe, alongside renewables, would not only help in meeting the climate challenge and ensure energy independence, but they would also provide a decarbonised form of dispatchable, baseload energy and reduce the added systemic costs of renewables (such as grid expansion, balancing requirements and energy storage).

This new energy future will require new technologies and at newcleo we are working at pace to develop a reactor to help deliver this new energy mix by building in the following features:

• Increased safety – our reactors will incorporate passive safety systems by design which can eliminate nuclear accidents. Intrinsic safety features can keep reactors in a safe state, even in the unlikely event of severe accidents.
• Reduced cost through modularisation and industrial mass production. Additionally, innovation (including the use of alternative coolants) can reduce the size and complexity of nuclear systems and increase operating temperatures to favour higher efficiency, further reducing costs.
• Reusing existing waste – our reactors will use spent fuel dramatically reducing existing and future nuclear waste. Multi-recycling of nuclear waste will effectively close the nuclear fuel cycle eliminating the need to mine for new uranium, increasing energy security and reducing the amount of waste in long-term storage.

SMRs like ours have the potential not only to generate the low-carbon electricity required to power everything from electrified transport and heating, but also to underpin electro-intensive sectors

and directly support other industrial applications and processes through the generation of electricity and high temperature heat at the same time. This new potential for nuclear as a decentralised generating technology which could be co-located on industrial sites marks a step change for the sector and its role in decarbonising other industries.

To this purpose, newcleo is already exploring a number of applications including the carbon-free production of electrolytic hydrogen and sustainable chemicals, including carbon-neutral ammonia, methanol, e-fuels and derivatives; as well as maritime propulsion, district heating and
other energy demanding industrial processes, such as the production of steel, concrete, paper, and chemicals.

We, like others in the sector, were buoyed by the inclusion of nuclear in the EU Taxonomy and further encouraged by the creation of an EU SMR Alliance, which aims to facilitate and accelerate the development, demonstration, and deployment of SMRs in Europe. We look forward to working with the Alliance to bring about a new funding and regulatory framework fit for new nuclear technologies – a framework which we believe should include:

• Encouraging the development of a new nuclear industry AMR/SMR supply chain
• Enabling private funding to flow into the nuclear industry. The inclusion of nuclear technology into the ‘Green Taxonomy’ was a first fundamental step to encourage private investments. However, EU subsidies and funding linked to matching investments could significantly accelerate this process
• Expanding the support to nuclear energy in the Net Zero Industry Act and its subsequent application. We need incentives from governments that can enable industry to take on the long-term risk of such large capital investments. With the right policy support in the EU and major countries, innovators and investors can move forward with greater confidence
• Encouraging education on nuclear science and technology in schools and academia, and the creation of new jobs, skills, and know-how in the industry
• Creating a favourable policy and regulatory environment. Whilst maintaining an unwavering focus on safety, we need a significant streamlining of current regulations and more coordination in the regulatory agencies across the EU. This should include consideration of cross-border nuclear fuel transportation policies to facilitate the recycling of existing nuclear materials across the EU for maximum efficiency and environmental benefits, and
• Building public confidence in nuclear technologies. Industry and governments have a shared interest in creating a strong framework that enhances public trust in nuclear energy plants, and enabling projects to move more rapidly from design, to permitting, to completion. 

At newcleo, we believe the future belongs to those who have the energy to imagine it – and build it. We think that part of the answer to the big challenges we face will indeed come from small solutions – and with the right framework in place, we can deliver the energy future we are all depending on.”

Stefano Buono, CEO, newcleo

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