Energy demand

New nuclear power plants: Europe’s bright future

Nuclear reactors as a solution to the energy problem

(Bild: ChristianSchwier.de)

The world is looking to nuclear energy to save the climate! Greenpeace warns of the dangers. Companies such as Microsoft and Google rely on mini-nuclear power plants. Small reactors deliver more electricity from the same amount of fuel. But what are the dangers of this new technology?

The dominoes are collapsing in the bulwarks erected against nuclear energy after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. After Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the nuclear renaissance and Hungary wants to expand Paks II reactors, even though the cooling water will heat the Danube to 30 (!) degrees, Poland is now also sailing on a nuclear course: the first reactor will be built on the east coast from 2028.

Uranium is a finite energy source
"As a high-risk technology, nuclear power poses an existential threat to humanity. As we know from the Chernobyl disaster, it has the potential to contaminate entire regions. And the radioactive waste radiates for thousands of years," warn Greenpeace boss Alex Egit and GLOBAL 2000 expert Patricia Lorenz. They also point out a hidden problem: "Uranium, from which nuclear power plants draw their power, is also a fossil and therefore finite energy source. It is mined with extremely high resource consumption and horrendous health consequences: Nuclear energy is anything but clean!"

Nuclear power plants in Europe

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Danger increases
Twelve of the 27 EU member states currently operate nuclear power plants, most of them in France. Power plants in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary pose a particular threat to Austria. A total of 100 nuclear power plants are humming across the EU, a quarter of all globally "radiating" plants. Egit draws particular attention to the danger in the (Ukraine) war: "Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, which is occupied by the Russians, requires continuous electricity for reactor cooling. If the grid is destroyed, emergency power generators will also fail. There is therefore a risk of a meltdown."

Sayed Ashraf from the International Atomic Energy Agency takes a different view: "Nuclear energy is one of the safest forms of energy generation, can contribute to solving climate change and, as a low-carbon source, can reduce emissions."

Are mini-nuclear power plants the solution? Interview with Prof. Georg Steinhauser, radioecologist (TU Vienna)

Prof. Steinhauser, why are Google and others investing in mini-nuclear power plants?
Small, modular reactors fill a gap that nuclear energy has not yet been able to fill: meeting electricity demand where it arises, for example by supplying industrial centers or small towns in remote locations. From an electricity industry perspective, they are interesting and profitable objects: no wonder that large companies are investing in this technology.

What are the advantages of smaller reactors?
A small, modular reactor offers numerous advantages. It requires fewer personnel or, in extreme cases, can even be operated completely autonomously. It can be built underground, which is advantageous from a terrorism protection perspective. And particularly important: unlike a "normal" nuclear power plant, a small, modular reactor does not dominate a country's entire electricity production. It allows redundancy, i.e. several systems that can alternately replace each other. This makes this technology particularly interesting for developing and emerging countries, which previously faced a dilemma due to a lack of redundancy in their energy supply: When the large power plant is running, there is electricity throughout the country; when it is shut down for an overhaul, the power is out for weeks.

What is the technology behind it? Are they powered by thorium reactors?
There are many different designs for such small, modular reactors. Not even the nuclear fuel is the same in every model. They can be operated with uranium, sometimes with uranium of slightly higher enrichment, or with a uranium-thorium mixture. The small reactor core can minimize losses in energy generation; the reactors then work more efficiently, i.e. generate more electricity from the same amount of fuel.

Safety is a top priority in the development of these reactors.

Prof. Georg Steinhauser, TU Wien

Bild: TU Wien

What about safety?
Safety is a top priority in the development of these reactors. Before approval is granted, there is always a long and detailed process in which the safety of each new reactor concept is thoroughly tested. There is then no reason why these reactors should not be built close to residential areas, which in turn minimizes losses in electricity transmission via high-voltage lines.

Are these nuclear power plants a solution to climate change?
No method of generating electricity can stop climate change on its own. What is needed is a sensible energy mix from sources with as little CO2 as possible. Nuclear power, in general, is of course an option. With small modular reactors, further steps can be taken in the fight against climate change.