Italian joint venture to study nuclear deployment opportunities

Thursday, 15 May 2025

Nuclitalia will be responsible for assessing "the most innovative and mature" nuclear power reactor designs, with an initial focus on water-cooled small modular reactors (SMRs). The process will include defining specific requirements for the Italian system and selecting the most promising solutions based on in-depth technical-economic analysis.

The company will also evaluate opportunities for industrial partnerships and co-design with an approach based on innovation, environmental and economic sustainability, as well as enhancing the skills of the Italian supply chain.

The stakes held in the capital of Nuclitalia, a limited liability company, are Enel (51%), Ansaldo Energia (39%) and Leonardo (10%).

Nuclitalia's board of directors will be composed of seven members and chaired by Ferruccio Resta, former Rector of the Politecnico di Milano. Luca Mastrantonio, head of Enel's Nuclear Innovation unit, will take on the role of CEO.

In the coming weeks, a technical committee will also be set up with the aim of supporting Nuclitalia's technological analysis activities.

The creation of Nuclitalia follows the signing of a collaboration agreement in March 2024 by Enel and Ansaldo Nucleare. Under the agreement, the partners agreed to jointly examine and evaluate new technologies and business models for the generation of nuclear energy - such as SMRs and advanced modular reactors - and their industrial applicability.

Italy operated a total of four nuclear power plants starting in the early 1960s but decided to phase out nuclear power in a referendum that followed the 1986 Chernobyl accident. It closed its last two operating plants, Caorso and Trino Vercellese, in 1990.

In late March 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Italian government approved a moratorium of at least one year on construction of nuclear power plants in the country, which had been looking to restart its long-abandoned nuclear programme. In a poll held in June of that year, 94% of voters rejected the construction of any new nuclear reactors in Italy. However, a poll conducted in June 2021 showed that one-third of Italians were in favour of reconsidering the use of nuclear energy in the country, with more than half of respondents saying they would not exclude the future use of new advanced nuclear technologies.

In May 2023, the Italian Parliament approved a motion to urge the government to consider incorporating nuclear power into the country's energy mix. In the September of that year, the first meeting was held of the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Power, set up by the government to define a time frame for the possible resumption of nuclear energy in Italy and identify opportunities for the country's industrial chain already operating in the sector.

Enel and Ansaldo Nucleare have been operating in the nuclear sector outside of Italy for several years. They are both part of the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Power.

Article researched and written by WNN's Warwick Pipe