{"id":1597,"date":"2026-07-12T20:33:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T20:33:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:33:28","slug":"iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/","title":{"rendered":"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Fatih Birol<\/strong>, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, and <strong>Dan J\u00f8rgensen<\/strong>, European Commissioner for Energy, share a clear message: more grids, more electricity, fewer fossil fuels. And in the energy mix that must power this electrified future, nuclear is no longer a matter of debate. Their recent interview with Euronews laid out the priorities of Europe&#8217;s energy agenda with a directness rarely heard at this institutional level.<\/p>\n<p>The core argument is that Europe cannot mistake any geopolitical easing for a return to business as usual. Birol warned that a closure of the Strait of Hormuz would send oil prices surging, with severe consequences for European economies. The structural response, according to both officials, is a rapid electrification drive: expanding nuclear and renewable capacity, investing in grid infrastructure, accelerating electric vehicles and heat pumps, and making electricity cheaper than fossil fuels. <strong>The cost of electricity<\/strong>, Birol stressed, is the real deciding factor: &#8220;People won&#8217;t choose electric because it&#8217;s clean. They&#8217;ll choose it because it costs less.&#8221; J\u00f8rgensen, meanwhile, previewed the upcoming EU electrification strategy, a draft of which has already been seen by Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers behind these words are compelling. Global nuclear generation already hit a record in 2025, driven by reactor restarts in Japan, increased output in France, and new units coming online in China, India, and South Korea. According to the IEA, nuclear growth will average 2.8% per year through 2030 \u2014 more than double the pace recorded between 2021 and 2025. By the end of the decade, renewables and nuclear combined will cover 50% of global electricity generation, up from 42% today. More than 70 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity are currently under construction worldwide \u2014 one of the highest levels in thirty years \u2014 and over 40 countries have incorporated nuclear power into their national energy strategies.<\/p>\n<p>On the grid side, the challenge is equally significant. The IEA estimates that meeting future electricity demand will require a 50% increase in annual investment in transmission infrastructure by 2030. In Europe, the European Investment Bank has already committed a record \u20ac11 billion in new grid financing in 2025, nearly tripling its 2023 levels. The European Parliament and the EU Council are set to begin political negotiations after the summer on modernising the continent&#8217;s electricity networks. The Iberian Peninsula remains the most glaring example of current shortcomings: poor interconnection with France restricts energy flows and undermines the resilience of the broader European system.<\/p>\n<p>Birol stops short of dictating any country&#8217;s energy mix: &#8220;Some are betting on nuclear, others more on renewables, others on both. But the electrification we&#8217;re talking about is necessary whether you go nuclear or renewable.&#8221; It is a position that moves beyond the old either\/or debate and places nuclear as a structural component of any credible decarbonisation scenario. Small modular reactors \u2014 SMRs \u2014 are explicitly cited by the IEA as a key driver of future growth, with an estimate of 80 GW of installed capacity by 2040, provided investment is doubled to $120 billion per year by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Whether European policy holds this course after the summer \u2014 when negotiations on the new grid framework begin \u2014 will reveal how much of what Birol and J\u00f8rgensen have said is destined to become real infrastructure. The institutional signal is unambiguous. The outcome depends on how quickly member states align their national plans with a vision that, for the first time in years, places nuclear and grids on equal footing with renewables in building European energy security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and EU Energy Commissioner Dan J\u00f8rgensen are calling for nuclear expansion and upgraded electricity grids as the backbone of European energy security. Global nuclear output already hit a record in 2025 and is set to keep growing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,121],"tags":[129,131],"class_list":["post-1597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy-economics","category-policy-and-regulation","tag-energy-security","tag-energy-transition"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security - Energia nucleare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Birol and J\u00f8rgensen call for more nuclear and stronger grids. Global nuclear output hit a record in 2025, on track to reach 50% with renewables by 2030.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security - Energia nucleare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Birol and J\u00f8rgensen call for more nuclear and stronger grids. Global nuclear output hit a record in 2025, on track to reach 50% with renewables by 2030.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energia nucleare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T18:33:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1-1024x683.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Redazione Energia Nucleare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Redazione Energia Nucleare\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Redazione Energia Nucleare\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2c3f466ad139658dfa60c575cf287fb7\"},\"headline\":\"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T18:33:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Energy Security\",\"Energy Transition\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Energy Economics\",\"Policy and Regulation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/\",\"name\":\"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security - Energia nucleare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T18:33:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2c3f466ad139658dfa60c575cf287fb7\"},\"description\":\"Birol and J\u00f8rgensen call for more nuclear and stronger grids. Global nuclear output hit a record in 2025, on track to reach 50% with renewables by 2030.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png\",\"width\":1536,\"height\":1024},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energia nucleare\",\"description\":\"Notizie sul nucleare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2c3f466ad139658dfa60c575cf287fb7\",\"name\":\"Redazione Energia Nucleare\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f7573bf636adfceb968c63d469c0889af0a78eb4935f321c17f76df121e056a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f7573bf636adfceb968c63d469c0889af0a78eb4935f321c17f76df121e056a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f7573bf636adfceb968c63d469c0889af0a78eb4935f321c17f76df121e056a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Redazione Energia Nucleare\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energianucleare.eu\\\/en\\\/author\\\/redazione\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security - Energia nucleare","description":"Birol and J\u00f8rgensen call for more nuclear and stronger grids. Global nuclear output hit a record in 2025, on track to reach 50% with renewables by 2030.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security - Energia nucleare","og_description":"Birol and J\u00f8rgensen call for more nuclear and stronger grids. Global nuclear output hit a record in 2025, on track to reach 50% with renewables by 2030.","og_url":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/","og_site_name":"Energia nucleare","article_published_time":"2026-07-12T18:33:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1-1024x683.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Redazione Energia Nucleare","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Redazione Energia Nucleare","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/"},"author":{"name":"Redazione Energia Nucleare","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2c3f466ad139658dfa60c575cf287fb7"},"headline":"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security","datePublished":"2026-07-12T18:33:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/"},"wordCount":579,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png","keywords":["Energy Security","Energy Transition"],"articleSection":["Energy Economics","Policy and Regulation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/","url":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/","name":"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security - Energia nucleare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png","datePublished":"2026-07-12T18:33:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2c3f466ad139658dfa60c575cf287fb7"},"description":"Birol and J\u00f8rgensen call for more nuclear and stronger grids. Global nuclear output hit a record in 2025, on track to reach 50% with renewables by 2030.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/publish_d7f42f65447d46d7a15c1396916bd1f1.png","width":1536,"height":1024},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/iea-and-eu-nuclear-and-electricity-at-the-core-of-energy-security\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IEA and EU: Nuclear and Electricity at the Core of Energy Security"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/","name":"Energia nucleare","description":"Notizie sul nucleare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2c3f466ad139658dfa60c575cf287fb7","name":"Redazione Energia Nucleare","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f7573bf636adfceb968c63d469c0889af0a78eb4935f321c17f76df121e056a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f7573bf636adfceb968c63d469c0889af0a78eb4935f321c17f76df121e056a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f7573bf636adfceb968c63d469c0889af0a78eb4935f321c17f76df121e056a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Redazione Energia Nucleare"},"url":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/author\/redazione\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}