Europe is investing in the nuclear energy of the future

“If we want to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, we will have to continue to invest in innovative forms of nuclear energy.” MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt reacts positively to the decision of the European Parliament to invest six billion euros over the next few years in the future of nuclear energy. The aim is to make nuclear fusion possible. In the south of France, a megacomplex is being built for this purpose. The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is intended to carry out the first tests as from 2025 for sustainable and inexhaustible energy of the future.

Benefits for all of society

Since back in the 1970s, there have been experiments carried out in the field of nuclear fusion. MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt calls it necessary research. “We are not going to get there with solar panels and wind turbines alone,” she says. The reactor in the south of France is an international project, on which not only the EU is working, but also Russia and India among others. The final cost is expected to be 20 billion euros. “The budgets are indeed huge. But so are the benefits for all of society. It is also of strategic importance that the reactor is located in the EU,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt explains.

Flemish contribution

There is also a Flemish contribution to the European nuclear energy story. “For the nuclear cluster in Mol, these European programmes are of crucial importance. SCK-CEN has been a partner in the European projects for many years. With their facility for processing nuclear waste, MYRRHA, we are among the top in Europe and worldwide,” says MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

The investments are taking place despite great pressure from the opponents of nuclear energy. “I find it very positive that common sense has prevailed despite the anti-nuclear lobby,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt concludes.