A consortium of buyers has reportedly been pursuing plans to restart the EU nation’s 9 reactors
US firms have been assessing the feasibility and prices of restarting Germany’s decommissioned nuclear energy crops, Bild reported on Friday. The EU’s largest economic system has been combating hovering power prices and a protracted financial slowdown.
Germany shut down its final three reactors in April 2023, following a post-Fukushima parliamentary resolution to section out atomic power. Nevertheless, with the nation’s industrial output beneath stress, calls to reverse the coverage have been gaining momentum.
This week, politicians and nuclear power advocates met in Berlin to debate the feasibility of reactivating the nation’s mothballed crops. Amongst them was US nuclear engineer Mark Nelson, founding father of Radiant Power Group, who has been analyzing how shortly and affordably a nuclear restart may occur.
“There’s no cheaper method to generate electrical energy wherever on the planet than along with your absolutely paid-off nuclear crops,” Nelson informed Bild. Backed by a consortium of buyers, he believes that 9 German reactors could possibly be introduced again on-line. Arguments that nuclear energy is just too costly, he mentioned, are based mostly on flawed assumptions or are politically motivated.
Nelson additionally argued that renewable power alone stays inadequate. In Q1 2025, renewables accounted for simply 47% of Germany’s electrical energy consumption.
Germany relied closely on inexpensive Russian fuel to energy its trade earlier than the Ukraine battle, and ramped up electrical energy imports in 2023 after shutting down its final nuclear crops. With the EU aiming to finish its reliance on Russian power, Berlin now plans to spend €20 billion ($23 billion) on new gas-fired energy stations to help shifting away from coal and preserve provide stability.
Moscow has repeatedly mentioned it stays a dependable provider and is open to restarting fuel exports to Europe. Nevertheless, Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly opposes any resumption of Russian fuel purchases.
Germany’s power crunch has taken a toll on its economic system, now in its third straight yr of recession. Practically 200,000 firms shut down in 2024 – the best determine since 2011, based on Creditreform. In April 2025, firm insolvencies exceeded ranges recorded in the course of the 2008 monetary disaster.
Fatih Birol, head of the Worldwide Power Company (IEA), informed Bild he expects “a serious nuclear comeback.”
From an financial perspective, he mentioned, Germany will want “each storable renewables and nuclear power.”
Merz, a longtime critic of Germany’s nuclear phaseout, has reportedly proven help for investing in small modular reactors and nuclear fusion applied sciences.
You may share this story on social media:
