“Return to nuclear? Almost 400 billion savings by 2050. This way Europe will no longer depend on China”

Nuclear / Interview with Marco Ricotti, engineer and professor at the Polytechnic of Milan: “Renewable energy alone cannot guarantee the country’s energy security”

“We need to increase the country’s energy autonomy“. These are the words of Emanuel Orsinipresident of Confindustriainterviewed by the director Angel Mary Perrino during the second evening of The Squarethe political-economic festival of Affaritaliani.it which was held in Ceglie Messapica (Brindisi) from 29 to 31 August.

It is not the first time that Orsini insists on a return to nuclear. A position of his that resonates perfectly with the words of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Ursowho, during the opening night of the event, reiterated the urgency of combining renewable energy production with third generation nuclear technologymodern and advanced. Urso, like Orsini, was equally clear: only in this way will Italy be able to guarantee a sustainable energy supply and adequate to the industrial and geopolitical challenges.

The real issue to be resolved is therefore the competitiveness of the country. And yet it is still It is difficult to clearly outline the mix of energy sources that Italy intends to focus on for its futureNuclear and renewable energy are two sides of the same coin, but for many irreconcilable. Instead according to Mark Henry Ricottiengineer and full professor of Nuclear Plants at the Polytechnic of Milan interviewed by Affaritalianit.it: “Renewable energy alone cannot guarantee the country’s energy securityjust as nuclear cannot be the only solution. We need both“.

It is therefore necessary to relaunch nuclear power as well, and yet Orsini himself brought this to light during La Piazza, the event of Affaritaliani.it, a significant fact: it will only be available in 11-12 years. How will we maintain Italy’s energy competitiveness until then? In this regard, Ricotti recalled that Italy is not as backward as it might seem, citing in support of his thesis the important Memorandum of Understanding signed between EDF, Edison, Federacciai, Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo Nucleareaimed at promoting the use of nuclear energy in the Italian steel sector. “The agreement is a step forward towards the adoption of innovative nuclear technologies in our country”, underlined Ricotti, placing particular emphasis on investments in Small Modular Reactors (SMR).

Minister Urso himself has spoken about small modular reactors several times, highlighting how these can significantly reduce financial costs, improve safety and minimize waste compared to traditional nuclear power plants. Ricotti clarified that there are two main families of modular reactors: the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and advanced modular reactors.

The biggest advantage? They do not require any human intervention and their small size implies lower investments, thus also limiting the financial risk. “If a reactor of this type had been used in Fukushima, the catastrophic radioactive events would not have occurred.“, Professor Ricotti highlighted. “Today we are at the third generation of reactors,” he explained, adding that: “By collaborating with countries like France or Slovenia, we can be operational immediately.”

The question remains, however, how does nuclear energy compare to other emerging energy solutions. Although nuclear is a clean energy source, like renewables, the question arises: Why invest in nuclear, which involves greater risks and high initial costs, when renewable energy is becoming increasingly competitive? and their production costs are rapidly decreasing?

Unlike renewables, nuclear is not inexhaustible, and this raises the question of uranium supply, also highlighted by Urso himself, who has talked about the need to avoid subordination to foreign producers of critical raw materials. On the other hand, Ricotti argues that “renewable sources will no longer be intermittent, but in fact programmable”, and this in fact makes nuclear a key element for green sources themselves.

But then which of the two technologies is more convenient? To answer this question, Ricotti underlined an essential fact also brought to light by Edison’s CEO, Nicola Monti: “By 2050, an energy mix composed of 80% renewables and 20% programmable resources, such as nuclear, could lead to investment savings of 400 billion euros“. What does this mean? That even if it is a minimal percentage, nuclear energy brings clear savings, highlighting the importance of maintaining a significant share of programmable energy in the system, a choice that Monti himself has defined as “almost obligatory”.

In this context, it makes even more sense to talk about nuclear, especially if we consider the importance of strategic independence in terms of energy resources and raw materials, a theme underlined by both the president of Confindustria Orsini and the minister Urso. Here Professor Ricotti highlighted a fundamental point: “With the transition to nuclear, from an energy point of view, we would no longer be dependent on China, which has a monopoly on photovoltaic and wind power.” Beijing, in fact, produces most of the silicon wafers needed for photovoltaic panels and permanent magnets used in wind turbines. In short, yet another proof of how we are once again “slaves” of Chinese supplies.