Enel and Ansaldo Nucleare: research agreement on new generation reactors

Enel and Ansaldo Nucleare have signed a collaboration agreement to examine and evaluate new technologies and business models for the generation of nuclear energy, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), and their industrial applicability. These are state-of-the-art innovative reactors, some of which are still under development, which will potentially enable the generation of electricity from nuclear sources in a sustainable and economical way, ensuring a high degree of versatility and flexibility during operation.
The partnership is aimed at exploring the prospects of these two cutting-edge technologies, analyzing in particular their opportunities from an industrial point of view. Specifically, in addition to progressively assessing the degree of maturity of the new SMR and AMR reactors and of related operational areas, the agreement foresees that the two companies will build a common path in which the analysis, monitoring and possible evaluation of joint initiatives contribute to verifying the effective applicability of the two technologies, with special focus on the involvement of the Italian supply chain. The goal is therefore to use innovative technologies as a development lever for a future competitive advantage of the country in terms of new generation nuclear power.
Enel and Ansaldo Nucleare, which have been operating outside of Italy in the nuclear sector for several years, are both part of the country’s National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Power (PNNS, from the Italian Piattaforma Nazionale per un Nucleare Sostenibile) established at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security with the aim to study a national strategy for the sector under a participatory and joint approach.