'Not there yet': France's EDF frustrated with nuclear power's status in ... - EURACTIV

‘Not there yet’: France’s EDF frustrated with nuclear power’s status in EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act - EURACTIV.com
By Frédéric Simon | EURACTIV.com Est. 7min 11-06-2023 (updated: 11-06-2023 ) Content-Type: News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. For EDF, the issue goes beyond the construction of new nuclear plants in France – which will go ahead with or without EU backing. "There is one million jobs in key equipment for the nuclear industry that need to be supported if we are to have a European industrial base,” said Erkki Maillard, senior vice-president for EU affairs at EDF. [EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON] EURACTIV is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Supporters of nuclear power in France have welcomed plans to scrap the two-tier approach to low-carbon technologies in the EU’s draft Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) but they also condemn the lower status granted to atomic energy as “incoherent” with the bloc’s wider decarbonisation goals. Tabled by the European Commission in March, the NZIA aims to ensure Europe is capable of producing domestically at least 40% of the technologies it deems “strategic” to achieve its goal of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050. But while nuclear energy was catalogued among the EU’s net-zero industries, it did not make it into the list of “strategic” technologies – such as wind, solar, batteries and electrolysers – that are eligible for the 40% domestic manufacturing benchmark, as well as quicker permitting procedures and looser EU state aid oversight. Under the Commission’s proposal, only Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and “advanced technologies” producing energy from nuclear processes “with minimal waste from the fuel cycle” would be eligible for the ‘strategic’ label. “The cutting-edge nuclear is in for specific fields, but not for all,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explained after an EU summit in March, causing uproar among nuclear energy fans on social media. Von der Leyen: Nuclear not 'strategic' for EU decarbonisation European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined limits to EU backing for nuclear power under the bloc’s Net-Zero Industry Act, which seeks to support home-made production of clean technologies like batteries and solar panels. Technological neutrality Legislators are now examining the proposed NZIA regulation, with the European Parliament and EU member states aiming to reach an agreement on a joint text before the end of the year. And for nuclear power advocates, the Parliament’s draft position on the regulation means more frustration, even though some see encouraging signs as well. Christian Ehler, a German MEP in charge of steering the bill through Parliament, proposed removing the distinction between strategic and non-strategic industries in the NZIA regulation, a move broadly welcomed by nuclear energy supporters. Julie Oddou, European affairs director at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), a government-funded research organisation, said she agreed with Ehler on “removing the distinction between strategic and non-strategic technologies”. “This arbitrary categorisation was not justified,” she told EURACTIV in emailed comments. Instead, Ehler suggested using the EU’s green finance taxonomy, which classifies industries according to their contribution to the EU’s climate goals, but the CEA is against this, arguing that the NZIA and the taxonomy are designed to pursue different objectives. “The taxonomy was created to guide private investment based on environmental criteria, while the NZIA aims to strengthen the European industrial value chains that are essential to achieve our climate objectives,” Oddou says. Besides, Ehler’s proposal refers only to Article 10.1 of the taxonomy, which covers ‘sustainable’ technologies and not Article 10.2, which deals with ‘transition’ technologies such as nuclear power – a move Oddou says “again amounts to excluding nuclear energy”. “Each European country is free to choose its own energy mix, in line with the common objective of carbon neutrality by 2050,” Oddou recalled, saying it is regrettable that nuclear power “continues to be penalised” across EU legislation, despite growing awareness in Europe about the climate crisis and issues related to technological sovereignty. EDF, the French state-owned electric utility, appears even more bitter, denouncing the “incoherence” of ignoring a mature technology like nuclear power, which emits almost no carbon dioxide, in a legislative text meant to promote zero-emission technologies. “The only nuclear power included in the NZIA is the one which does not yet exist – Small Modular Reactors (SMRs),” said Erkki Maillard, senior vice president for EU affairs at EDF, which returned under full state ownership this week. “Besides, how can we say whether a technology is ‘cutting edge’ or not, as the Commission claims?” he quipped. In EDF’s view, the golden rule for policymakers in such circumstances is to strictly observe the principle of technological neutrality, which is written down in EU law. “And here, clearly, we’re not there yet,” Maillard said. “We need to find a way of making this text more neutral, as they do in the United States with the Inflation Reduction Act, which supports all technologies that contribute to a reduction in emissions,” he told EURACTIV. Parliament could scrap 'strategic' clean tech label in Net-Zero Industry Act The European Parliament is debating whether to scrap the idea of “strategic” technologies in a draft EU regulation aimed at promoting industries that will drive the green transition, with some lawmakers calling for a wider approach and others a more focused one. ‘One million jobs’ in Europe For EDF, the issue goes beyond the construction of new nuclear plants in France – which will go ahead with or without EU backing – it is about strengthening the European value chain in the manufacturing of key components such as valves. “There are currently only a few players in Europe who can do this. This is typically the type of industry where we risk importing from Asia if we don’t strengthen the industrial base in Europe,” Maillard warned. The full addition of nuclear power to the NZIA would also speed up permitting for plants needed to manufacture components for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which the European Commission initially classified as ‘strategic’, EDF argues. “Permits are needed for these plants. If these permits are granted more quickly in the United States or China, Europe will be at a competitive disadvantage,” Maillard warned. “For large nuclear plants, the issue is the same: component factories can also benefit from accelerated permitting rules without putting safety standards in jeopardy when it comes to the operation of the nuclear plants themselves,” he said. Another example cited by EDF is the training of employees working on the maintenance of existing nuclear plants, who may originate from many different countries – including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Spain. “There are one million jobs in key equipment for the nuclear industry that need to be supported if we are to have a European industrial base,” Maillard pointed out, saying about a quarter of those jobs only are located in France. “Why couldn’t we use the NZIA facilities for training in existing nuclear power? It just doesn’t make sense. So here again, we need to apply the principle of technological neutrality.” Nuclear alliance France is not alone in its quest to win recognition for nuclear power as a strategic net-zero technology. Last month, a group of 16 European countries taking part in the French-led “nuclear alliance” signed a joint declaration in which they encouraged the European Commission “to recognise nuclear energy in the EU’s energy strategy” and promote “better conditions for the development and deployment of new nuclear energy capacity in the EU”. In the European Parliament, support is building up as well in the form of a cross-party group of pro-nuclear lawmakers led by Christophe Grudler, a French MEP. “For me, it is clear that the NZIA will only work if it is technology neutral,” Grudler told EURACTIV, calling on atomic energy to be fully recognised in the NZIA, alongside other low-carbon technologies. “No country should feel ill-treated by the principle of technology neutrality,” Grudler said, warning that pro-nuclear lawmakers in the European Parliament were sufficiently numerous to block the adoption of the NZIA if necessary. “We did it twice, we can do it a third time,” he warned in reference to previous Parliament votes on nuclear. Parliament lawmakers have until 19 June to table amendments to the NZIA regulation. The Parliament’s industry committee, which has the lead on the matter, is scheduled to vote on the proposal on 12 October, before a plenary vote expected the following month. This will open the way for decisive talks with EU member states and the European Commission to finalise the law’s adoption. [Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic] Read more with EURACTIV Critical Raw Materials: China 15 years ahead, expert saysChina is strategically far better prepared when it comes to the Green transition and has an edge of at least 15 years when it comes to the mining and processing of critical raw materials that will fuel the net-zero industry, according to an expert. Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Topics Energy & Environment European Green Deal Net-Zero Industry Act Nuclear NZIA