When the climate and the war awaken interest in nuclear power

The Fukushima disaster has prompted some countries to abandon nuclear energy. Switzerland is in this case. But the need to ensure energy security as well as global warming put the atom to the agenda of several governments. In Bern in particular.

The accident of the Fukushima Japanese nuclear power plant in 2011 remains one of the most serious in history. He released large quantities of radiation and forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 people.

This disaster marked a turning point in the energy policy of certain countries, arising from the reactions of their public opinion and re -evaluations of the security of existing power stations. Switzerland and Germany have decided to gradually abandon the use of nuclear energy. Others, like Belgium and Taiwan, have reaffirmed their intention to close their power stations.

But almost fifteen years after Fukushima, the atom is trendy again. New installations are built in the world. Several governments, including that of Japan, intend to relaunch their energy production programs based on the atom.

Why do some countries reconsider the nuclear option?

Geopolitical crises, from war to Ukraine to conflicts in the Middle East, question the security of energy supply. Important oil and gas countries can no longer count on their historic suppliers and are looking for alternatives. The European Commission, for example, wants to prohibit the importation of Russian gas into the EU by the end of 2027.

The increase in electricity consumption is also a challenge for supply. Electric vehicles, heat pumps and data centers require large quantities of electricity that renewable sources cannot always cover reliably.

Added to this is climate change. Nuclear generating few CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels. The International Nuclear Energy Agency considers it as a key element in the planet’s decarbonizationExternal link.

A recent reportExternal link From the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT) notes the advantages of nuclear energy: the atom provides low carbon electricity, requires little space and materials per kilowatt hour produced, and generates energy regardless of weather conditions.

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What countries have nuclear power plants?

32 countries, around one in the world, produce part of their electricity thanks to nuclear energy. 439 reactors are in total service, according to the latest statisticsExternal link (June 2025) of the World Nuclear Association (ANM).

Almost half of these reactors are located in the United States, France and China, also the main producers of nuclear energy. Worldwide, the latter provides 9% of electricityExternal link.

Switzerland has three operational nuclear power plants and four reactors (Beznau I and II, Gösgen and Leibstadt). In 2024, they produced twenty-three terawatt hours or 28% of national electricity production.

What countries are building new nuclear power plants?

Twenty-four countries have planned new reactors or are already building them, according to ANM. Just in China, seventy-six new power plants will be operational in the next fifteen years. And Egypt, Turkey and Bangladesh build their first power plants.

Thirty countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, want to triple their nuclear energy production capacityExternal link By 2050 as part of their efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. From developing countries in Asia and Africa, Rwanda and Nigeria for example, also envisage the nuclear option to diversify and increase their electricity production.

EU’s ambitious climatic objectives have brought Member States such as Belgium and Italy – which had already closed its power stations in the late 1980s – to review their previous opposition to nuclear energy. In May, Belgium officially canceled its plan to disengage this energy.

For its part, Germany put its latest reactors out of service in 2023. But its new government could consider a return to the atom. Denmark wishes to analyze the potential advantages of new nuclear technologies and plans to lift the ban in force for forty years.

Despite Fukushima, Japan has decided to turn againExternal link Towards nuclear energy to achieve its programs reduction goals. The atom could also return to Taiwan, when the country has just completed the exit from the nuclear that started in 2016. A national referendum must be held on August 23 on the reactivation of the Maanshan reactor, arrested last May.

New power plants safer than Fukushima?

The power plants in the world are essentially third generationExternal link And ten to a hundred times safer than existing facilities, mainly of second generation, says the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT). They can cool automatically without external power supply, for example. In Fukushima, it was the failure of the cooling systems that caused the merger of the heart.

As for fourth generation reactorsExternal linkthey can use alternative fuels such as thorium or waste from the old power plants. The cooling is no longer done in the water, but with gases or liquid metals. Although promising, these reactors are still at the prototype stage and “important uncertainties in terms of technology and profitability” remain, notes the SCNAT.

But the technical aspect is not alone in question. Some expertsExternal link highlight the importance of developing a solid security culture and closer cooperation between countries and their independent regulatory organizations.

Switzerland in the race for a new central?

A few weeks after Fukushima, the Swiss government developed the 2050 national energy strategy. It provides for the gradual closure of existing nuclear power plants and the ban on building new ones. The Swiss people approved this new policy in 2017 in the polls.

But today, the nuclear energy debate is also relaunched in Switzerland.

The government intends to revise the nuclear law in the context of its counter-project on the popular “Stop Blackout” initiative. A text which requires the authorization of all types of electricity production that respects the climate. The government wants to leave the door open to new nuclear power plants if renewable energies should not be enough to cover the needs of the country with electricity.

“I hope that will be eliminated from the federal nuclear energy law the prohibition to use this energy,” said federal advisor Albert Rösti on July 8.

“I hope it will be eliminated from the federal nuclear energy law the prohibition to use this energy.”

Albert rösi, counselor furious

A reportExternal link From 2023 issued by the Energy Science Center of the Zurich Federal Polytechnic School (EPFZ) says that nuclear energy could prove to be an option to ensure energy security in the future for zero emissions. But the calendar and the costs of building new power plants in Switzerland remain vague.

It would take at least eight years to build a new nuclear power plant, says SCNAT. By comparison, the construction of that of Olkiluoto in Finland, inaugurated in 2023, lasted more than sixteen years. In China, electricity in France built the two reactors of the Taishan power station in nine years.

Be that as it may, the construction would be preceded by a long political process, underlines the SCNAT. In a semi-direct democracy like Switzerland, where the people often have the last word, the project could fail at several stages. Not to mention the probable opposition to the building permit.

“Any decision will be accompanied by uncertainties at all levels: political, economic and technical”, judges Jochen Markard, researcher at the EPFZ and the Zurich Haute École of Applied Sciences (Zhaw). A new power station should not be able to be connected to the Swiss electrical network before 2050, attests to SCNAT.

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Text reread and verified by Gabe Bullard/VM, translated from Italian by Pierre-François Besson/DBU