“Nuclear energy is an option that needs to be studied and certainly invested in, but it is a solution that can be pursued in the long term and which currently presents considerable uncertainties in its cost-effectiveness and feasibility: it will have a real impact in at least twenty years”. Thus Antonio Volpin, a consultant in the energy sector with a past within McKinsey & Company and now on the board of directors of the Singapore energy group SP Group, comments on the return of nuclear power to the European political and industrial agendas.
In particular, in the latest agreement on the new European directive for renewables, the EU’s opening up to nuclear power is linked to the production of hydrogen, a solution sponsored by France.
Nuclear for hydrogen
«Of course, nuclear power could be particularly efficient in the production of this element. Especially with small reactors (small modular reactors), capable of making the electrolysis process more efficient», confirms Volpin.
«This technology sees renewed interest in Europe and partially in the USA, but it has never been out of fashion in Korea, China, India, even Japan. Due to its characteristics, it is aligned and functional to decarbonisation and energy independence. Governments and regulators are considering what can be done. It is right to continue researching and studying solutions, but we must be aware that commercial production takes at least 20 years from today. It is important to consider other opportunities, such as accelerating renewables. It should also be remembered that the investments to develop nuclear energy – always understood as new generation – are enormous, and public support is necessary. In France, in Finland, in the United Kingdom it was developed with state support», says Volpin.
Lack of skills
«The problem in Europe is that with the interruption of the construction of new nuclear power for tens of years and countries that have chosen to leave it, there is no longer a dedicated supply chain. There are no places to produce and there are no people, the necessary skills to do it. In England for EDF’s Hinkley Point C reactors they had to resort to Chinese technicians. In France at Flamanville they took them from Eastern countries. And all this without going into the field of permissions. In the US, it took NuScale Power 10 years to certify one small modular reactor from 60 MW. Now they have changed capacity and a certification supplement will be needed: at least another two years will pass before construction», concludes Volpin.