COUNTRY PAVILLIONS | WNE2025 Italy: SMRs and a new approach to nuclear
Since decommissioning the last of its nuclear fleet in 1990, Italy has relied on imported French nuclear power. That may change with plans for new SMR developments
Italy remains the only G8 nation without an active civil nuclear power programme. At one time the country operated four commercial reactors and was a leading nuclear electricity producer in the 1960s. However, the programme was phased out following the Chornobyl accident, and by 1990 the last two reactors – Caorso, an 860 MWe BWR, and the 260 MWe Enrico Fermi/Trino Vercellese PWR – were permanently shut down. Despite the absence of domestic nuclear generation, Italy
continues to rely on erlectricity imports, primarily from French nuclear, which provides approximately 5% of its electricity supply. Nonetheless, since the closure of its reactor fleet, nuclear activities in the country have largely centred on decommissioning and radioactive waste management. Significant progress has been made, including the near-completion of decommissioning work at the Enrico Fermi site, Reactor dismantling is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in 2028 for example. The state-owned Societa Gestione Impianti Nucleari (Sogin) was
established in 1999 to undertake decommissioning of the nuclear facilities and help siting of a national waste store. Earlier this year, Sogin also began dismantling the old radwaste system, used during the operation of the 150 MW Garigliano nuclear power plant, in the Municipality of Sessa Aurunca (Caserta) to manage radioactive liquid effluents. This BWR was connected to the grid in 1964 and shut down in 1982. To ensure the continuity of the disposal activities underway in the plant, in 2022 Sogin created and put into operation a new treatment system for radioactive liquid effluents. Italy has made several abortive attempts at revival of a
national nuclear energy programme, including a proposed programme in the late 2000s aiming for nuclear to meet 25% of national electricity demand by 2030. This initiative was halted following a 2011 public referendum, reaffirming anti-nuclear sentiment in the wake of the Fukushima accident. However, the recent advent of small modular reactor (SMR) technologies may yield more substantive progress. In July last year the Italian government revealed plans to
present a law that allows investment in small SMRs with the goal of nuclear accounting for at least 11% and up to 22% of the country’s total electricity consumption by 2050. In March a proposal to draft laws to permit nuclear power generation, focusing on SMRs, was subsequently granted
Above: Italy’s 260 MWe Enrico Fermi/Trino Vercellese plant is being decommissioned by Sogin. Source: Sogin
Above: Caorso, an 860 MWe BWR, was one of Italy’s last operating nuclear power plants.
approval. The government aims to finalise plans and legislation by the end of 2027 as part of a broader initiative to create a consolidated nuclear code. The government also plans to allocate €20m ($20.7m) a year from 2027 to 2029 for nuclear investments. A key development came in February this year with the
establishment of an Italian state nuclear company held by multinational power company Enel (51%), power generation supplier Ansaldo Energia (39%), and defence company Leonardo (10%). Formally established as Nuclitalia, the company will be in charge of studying advanced technologies and analysing market opportunities for new nuclear, overseen by the Ministry of Economy & Finance in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment & Energy and the Ministry of Enterprises. With an initial focus on water-cooled SMRs, Nuclitalia will selecting the most promising solutions based on a technical-economic analysis. There is also a strong international presence for Italian nuclear
companies. In March, for example, Edison, EDF, Ansaldo Energia, and Ansaldo Nucleare signed a Letter of Intent to collaborate on SMR development, likely based on EDF’s NUWARD design and more recently, in June Ansaldo Energia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy (Uzatom) aimed at exploring collaboration in advanced nuclear technologies and the development of SMRs. Further down the supply chain, Tectubi Raccordi is supplying piping components related to the feedwater and steam supply systems at Hinkley Point C in the UK.
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