The European Commission has selected nine small modular reactor projects - including two lead-cooled fast reactors - in the initial round of applications to form Project Working Groups under the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs.

As the world transitions to a low-carbon future, nuclear energy is gaining renewed recognition as an essential part of the energy mix. The urgency to decarbonise global economies, meet net-zero targets, and ensure energy security has placed nuclear power at the forefront of energy policy discussions. Here, Vakisasai Ramany, senior vice president International Nuclear Development, EDF, says the right industrial capacities and supply chains must be in place.

Deliveries of natural uranium and other nuclear services to the EU, including imports from Russia, increased in 2023 as utilities continued to diversify their sources of nuclear fuel. But there are still supply chain challenges to face, according to the latest annual report from the Euratom Supply Agency.

A group of 18 European companies, led by Poland's Orlen Synthos Green Energy, has applied to the European Industrial Alliance for Small Modular Reactors to establish a working group dedicated to the implementation of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 technology.

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, the Dutch government's plan to invest EUR2 billion (USD2.2 billion) in the construction of the new Pallas research reactor in Petten, the Netherlands.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into whether the support for the lifetime extension of two of Belgium's nuclear power reactors is in line with its rules on acceptable state aid.

The European Commission has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the construction of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania. Unit 3 is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2030 and unit 4 the following year.

The EUR10 million (USD10.7 million) contribution from the European Union under the Euratom Research and Training Programme targets the "swift and secure development and deployment of a European fuel solution" for VVER reactors.

The revamped project plan for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor aims for "a scientifically and technically robust initial phase of operations, including deuterium-deuterium fusion operation in 2035 followed by full magnetic energy and plasma current operation".