More reactors and less bureaucracy: that is the stated goal of the US President. Donald Trump wants to push the United States to global nuclear supremacy with a whole battery of reactors. In Europe, Belgium and Italy are also moving away from their former exit plans. It sounds like something out of the mothballs of the 1980s, but nuclear power is back. And in full force. First and foremost, the US President, who leaves no doubt about the direction of travel. His motto, obviously applied to the nuclear field:
"Make America Nuclear Again." Four executive orders, one goal: more reactors, less bureaucracy. In the future, the approval of new reactors will be completed in just 18 months, something that has so far taken a decade in some cases. At the same time, uranium production is increasing again. The United States will become the "true powerhouse in the nuclear industry," Trump said. Why? In a nutshell: data centers, artificial intelligence, e-mobility: the US is hungry for electricity. A great hunger for power.
"Turn back the clock" Trump wants to quadruple nuclear production. What critics see as a step backward, he sells as progress: "After 50 years of overregulation, we are turning back the clock." His Interior Minister, Doug Burgum, echoed him: "We are freeing an industry of the future from the stranglehold of bureaucrats." In Europe, too, confidence in nuclear power is returning, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Belgium, for example, quietly bid farewell to the phase-out of nuclear power. With an overwhelming majority, Parliament voted to extend the lifespan of existing reactors while simultaneously paving the way for the construction of new plants. Security and independence are the key words here, also with regard to Russia's energy policy. "Small Modular Reactors" Meanwhile, there was a real first in Italy: the Lombardy region was the first in the world to sign a cooperation agreement with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The goal is the peaceful use of nuclear energy in medicine, agriculture, and possibly soon again for electricity generation. We're talking about SMRs – Small Modular Reactors. Mini reactors with a high impact. In any case, the president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, is exultant: "Nuclear energy is a way to promote the ecological transition." A phrase that should also please US President Donald Trump. Because between megawatts and energy policy, it's clear that nuclear energy is back, as part of the green transition, the digital boom, and geopolitical security. The reactor of the future is small, modular, and, once again, politically very explosive.
