NUCLEAR GOING
As demand for digital power grows and fossil fuel use declines, nuclear energy is increasingly tapped to fill the gap – driving simultaneous waves of new plant construction and legacy plant decommissioning worldwide. Julian Champkin reports.
NUCLEAR O
n 17 July, the European Commission published its Electrification Action Plan. It aims to lift electricity’s share of final energy
consumption from 23% to 46% by 2040. The target will be extremely difficult to achieve unless nuclear generation provides between 25–30% of electrical needs. It means going from 2,732TWh of nuclear power to roughly 3,500TWh. On that basis, Europe would need roughly 60 new large reactors or small modular reactor projects to enter planning and development over the next four years. If implemented, it would cut EU fossil fuel imports by €260bn a year. Consider also that the deadline for the legally binding climate-neutrality target is only 24 years away.
A 46% electrification target is achievable, given
A small modular reactor by Rolls Royce.
current electrification rates of approximately 30% in Japan and China and 34% in Sweden. It is also well justified in light of events in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil
prices have risen sharply, and EU electric vehicle sales were up 55% year on year in the first half of 2026. Heating is the other big driver. Heat pump installations, which substitute electricity for oil or gas, are currently growing by 17% a year. So more electricity is a must. Almost all growth in
European power generation over the past 15 years has come from renewables; they now supply around half of all generation. But renewables may now be hitting the grid wall. Grid capacity, land-ownership and land-use restrictions mean that the low-hanging fruit there have already been picked. Attention is increasing, therefore, on nuclear construction. The rise of data centres will only add to the need. In the US, that has contributed to growing interest in nuclear power among technology companies. Google, Amazon and Microsoft have all made investments, development agreements and private purchase agreements with nuclear companies. At the end of 2024, the EU had 101 operating reactors in 12 member states, generating 98GW in total. Overall, approximately 2GW is under construction and 10GW is in development. This is five times less than what would be required to reach the target. Europe would need an additional 50GW of nuclear capacity by 2040, which again means that approximately 60 new large reactor projects will need to start being planned and developed over the next four years. Seventy-three reactors are actively under construction worldwide, concentrated heavily in China, Russia, South Korea, India and newcomer markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Small modular reactors may offer an alternative
route to adding nuclear capacity alongside large plants. Components are factory, rather than on-site, built. Their smaller size could allow projects to be developed incrementally, far more quickly and at far less capital expenditure. More than 70 projects are at various stages of progress, from initial site preparation onwards, though only three – in Russia, China and Japan – are yet in operation. The UK’s first SMR fleet is planned for Wylfa in North Wales, featuring three units, each manufactured by Rolls Royce, generating between them at least 1.4GW. In Ontario, Canada, the OECD’s first light water
20 | November/December 2026 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
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