On March 11, 2024, the International Consultative Board held its 4 session.

The meeting was opened by president of ICB -Miroslav Saban. He informed that the meeting would be dedicated on the state of nuclear energy in selected countries of the world (especially in Europe).

The session was held online (with the use of the Microsoft Teams platform) by member of ICB - Thierry Deschaux from Électricité de France.
At the beginning Thierry Deschaux mentioned his recent attendance at the reopening of the nuclear department at the Silesian University of Technology and his recent speech at that venue. After that he vgave a detailed presentation regarding the state of nuclear energy and industry in Europe. He first also mentioned the importance on the discussion of the state of Poland’s nuclear energy prospects.
The main bullet points of his presentation were the discussion of the general state of nuclear energy and the industry in Europe; further challenges after nuclear energy has been established; the question on whether it is possible to fulfill the requirements; the details of the Polish Nuclear Power Programme and new competences, which are key to the success of the European nuclear renaissance.

When starting the topic of the state of nuclear energy, he mentioned that Europe is the leader in terms of it in comparison to the rest of the world. A very important factor has been mentioned on the possibility of EU’s planned energy transition, where Nuclear Energy is essential because of it being the major source of decarbonized electricity in Europe. He pointed out that the EU has no chance to reach its goals with its „net-zero target” without nuclear energy. Next he mentioned the factors of air pollution, where a comparison of average greenhouse gas emissions has been displayed: where nuclear power emits less than solar and almost the same as wind power. The question of energy prices have also been mentioned. The energy performance and security of the supply are also key factors that state the advantage of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy produces around 85% to above 90% of its capability all the time. As mentioned further on, nuclear power is a major contributor to EU economy with €451.4bn GDP generated by the nuclear sector in the EU. It was also mentioned that the civil nuclear industry supports around 1.3 million jobs in Europe.

The next discussed topic was the issue of further challenges after the construction and installation of nuclear energy. Factors like sovereignty and financing have been emphasized, where the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine have been mentioned as ones that have reprioritized the issues of energy security. It has been mentioned in the presentation that, according to estimates in France, the share of electricity consumption will rise despite the plans for the reduction of total energy consumption according to the NetZero plan. Stability of the energy supply has been mentioned as a key factor here. Energy storage capacity has to also be increased for countries relying more on renewable energy sources (solar and wind). The growing number of nuclear power plant projects gaining maturity and credibility have been listed next, including those under development and those under construction.

He then brought forth details and predictions, stating that under the impetus of France, a positive dynamic around the nuclear alliance must be consolidated. Achieving the European Nuclear Alliance’s target of 150 GW by 2050 involves i.a. completing all announced programs (60 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050).

Next, the next generation reactors that best meet the market and safety requirements have been discussed (including large size reactors, mid-size reactors and small module reactors). A simple, safe and affordable solution, which was recommended highly was the installation of SMR (small module reactors). Some details on the Nuward SMR have been mentioned. Finally, EPR projects across the world have been pointed out.

The next topic was the question whether the industry can deliver these plans in a realistic scenario. The involvement of France in the past success of the construction of 66 reactors in less than 30 years have been mentioned. However, the mention of only 5 reactors being built in 20 years (in the span of 2000-2020) has been given. The third phase (which is for 2020 and further on) includes plans for 20+ reactors to be constructed. The series effect has been said to be a key factor in the manufacturing
of new reactors. The presenter next mentioned the localization experience of EDF (Électricité de France SA) demonstrating a successful track record of localization at the Hinkley Point C project (in the UK), effectively integrating local and global suppliers. It was brought forth that Hinkley Point C represents multi-billion-pound opportunities. From reinforced steel suppliers in South Wales to advanced engineering firms in the north of England, every region is benefiting from the project’s economic opportunity. It has been mentioned that the EPR supply chain is 95% European and that the construction of 2 EPR units in the UK has enabled the first development of a UK and European supply chain, developing skills that can support future projects in the UK, France and elsewhere in Europe. The Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PNPP) has been brought forth and its details. The 27 possible sites for the power plant construction have been mentioned. A graph showing the dependencies of Polish nuclear power players has been depicted in the presentation, clearly stating what agencies have a crucial role to play in order for the PNPP to succeed. A simplified, yet still advanced scheme of the nuclear power plant licensing process has been presented next; however, it
was stated that this scheme is no more complicated than in other countries. The decisions for nuclear projects, granted or in progress, have also been listed for SMRs and large scale reactors.

The final topic discussed new competences, which are key for the success of the European nuclear renaissance. It has been brought up that the achievement of the European Nuclear Alliance’s target of 150 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050 involves: the construction of 30 to 45 new large reactors and the development of SMRs in the EU. This represents around €92bn for Europe’s GDP. It is also more than 300,000 new direct and indirect jobs created by 2050 (including 200,000 skilled jobs and,
taking into account retirements, 450,000 new recruitments by 2050). The presenter mentioned that universities have a very important role here to prepare new engineers to be involved in the change because the nuclear industry is lacking of competences. He mentioned that lots of employees in France and Germany are retiring or will retire and have to be replaced by competent, well prepared experts.

Finally, in numbers, Thierry Deschaux gave the predictions of job creations for France alone as an example of a properly working nuclear sector. The need for not only the preparations of highly skilled engineers but also technicians and other workers involved in welding, where he gave the example of the a welding university in France called Hefais (Hephaistos), training 200 welders per year. It has been created to ensure a sufficient number of welders for new French nuclear and naval programs. It is a joint initiative of several groups (EDF, Orano, Naval Group and CMN) and needs to train 1000 welders for the EPR2 program in 2030 (500 of which are available today).

When the presentation has been concluded there was time for a discussion.

Thierry Doucerain had a question regarding the French offer for the Nuclear Polish Programme, he asked if the speaker can say a few words on the support of the French state for this offer, particularly on the financial side.
The response by Thierry Deschaux was that when the offer was submitted two years ago the French Minister of Economy (now being the Minister of Economy and Industry) wrote a letter proposing the support of the French state for the financing of the Polish Nuclear Programme.

Prof. Paweł Sowa thanked the speaker for a very well-prepared presentation. He gave some insight on the truth, which is that nuclear power plants in Poland were planned for around 50 years now. He recalled that in 1982 the construction of a nuclear power plant had its beginning, however it was suspended due to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, causing major criticism to be thrown at the idea. In consequence the project was abandoned. After many years of discussions and scientific considerations there are plans for three new nuclear power plants in Poland. He also mentioned the unfavorable position of Poland in perspective of „Fit for 55”, since Poland’s most stable share of power supply comes mainly from black and brown coal power plants. He also mentioned that renewable energy sources are not stable enough to provide an assured level of produced energy. The truth is that if the coal power plants are to be replaced with other reliable sources then nuclear power plants are the only solution.

Thierry Deschaux agreed and added that there is also a significant issue, which is that the first nuclear power plant in Poland to be built is not yet financed, so huge difficulties are to come. Hopefully, the Polish government will proceed with the financing soon. As for other projects, including SMRs, he stated that Poland should start as soon as possible. Of course, he stated that EDF and the French state will be building new reactors right now and at the same time could help in the acceleration of Poland’s nuclear power plant construction.