The development of new nuclear power in Italy – installing up to 20 Small Modular Reactor (SMR)/Advanced Modular Reactor (Amr) plants that can satisfy approximately 10% of electricity demand by 2050 – can enable an overall economic impact for the country of more than 50 billion euros (approximately 2.5% of Italian GDP in 2023) activating up to 117,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs from 2030-35 to 2050.
This is what emerges from the study ‘The new nuclear in Italy for citizens and businesses: the role for decarbonisation, energy security and competitiveness’, carried out by Edison, Ansaldo Nucleare and Teha Group and previewed at the Cernobbio Forum. “The new nuclear is not only a precious resource for achieving the energy transition objectives for 2050, but it constitutes a real opportunity for industrial relaunch for the country, helping to maximise the competitiveness of the entire system.
The study conducted demonstrates the benefits that can be activated by the new nuclear, a strategic sector where Italy has the opportunity to be a protagonist, if a medium-long term industrial plan is defined immediately to guarantee a stable, safe and competitive energy future for our country”, commented Nicola Monti, CEO of Edison.
“Edison has already taken some concrete steps to be ready, should the conditions arise. We are part of the National Platform for sustainable nuclear power, desired by Mase, and through the signing of multiple agreements we are committed with our partners to developing the necessary skills and identifying appropriate solutions for the adoption of new nuclear technologies to benefit the objectives of decarbonization and economic and social sustainability for the country system”, added Monti.
For Italy, a new reflection is reopened on the beneficial role that new nuclear technologies available or under development can play in the Italian energy mix, integrating renewable energies and ensuring the continuity and security of electricity supply”, said Daniela Gentile, CEO of Ansaldo Nucleare who added: “With great resilience, numerous Italian companies, not only our group, have maintained and developed capabilities in the nuclear sector and now have the opportunity to become protagonists in the development of new nuclear in the wider European and international market and support the fundamental action of transparent information at all levels, to create a broad consensus on which to rely to develop a reliable national program”.
In approaching the development of new nuclear, Italy can count on skills along almost the entire nuclear supply chain and on a cutting-edge research system. In particular, the study identified 70 Italian companies specialized in the nuclear energy sector and which confirm a strong resilience of this sector three decades after the abandonment of nuclear electricity production in Italy.
The value strictly linked to the nuclear sector generated by companies in this sector stands at 457 million euros in 2022, with approximately 2,800 employees supported, and Italy ranks 15th globally and seventh in the EU-27 for exports of nuclear reactors and components between 2018 and 2022. Furthermore, Italy has a cutting-edge research system with several centers of excellence, including the Enea Center in Brasimone, and numerous nuclear engineering faculties present throughout the peninsula.
These elements mean that Italy is now the fifth country in the world for scientific production on nuclear energy (after South Korea, the United Kingdom, France and Germany) and the second for the impact of publications related to nuclear energy with an average of citations per publication (5.7) second only to that of the United Kingdom (7.6). In this context, the new nuclear energy represents a significant opportunity to further develop the value chains already present on the national territory, thus contributing to the competitiveness of the national economy.
Using a proprietary ad hoc analysis, Teha has estimated Italy’s economic development potential based on European development scenarios and the forecast of covering approximately 10% of Italian electricity demand by 2050 with new nuclear (up to 6.8 GW in 20 plants).
The analytical model shows that the new nuclear can enable a potential market of up to 46 billion by 2050, with an activatable added value of 14.8 billion. Considering also the indirect and induced benefits deriving from the development of the new nuclear in Italy, investing in the new nuclear can enable from 2030-35 to 2050 a potential overall economic impact for the country system of 50.3 billion (equal to approximately 2.5% of the Italian GDP in 2023) and generate 117,000 new jobs.