- The two Italian companies are committed to the research and development of Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Modular Reactors
Rome, March 8th, 2024 - 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.
The Enel Group is one of the main integrated players in the global power and gas markets, strongly committed to renewable sources and to the research and development of new environmentally friendly technologies. The Group has a proven track record in the nuclear sector, both for the management of plants through its subsidiary Endesa, in Spain, and for construction, through its stake in the company Slovenské Elektrárne in Slovakia.
Ansaldo Nucleare, a subsidiary of Ansaldo Energia, has been operating for over 60 years as an industrial integrator of complex nuclear plants and an innovator in research for the nuclear technologies of the future, such as SMRs and Generation IV lead-cooled reactors (LFRs). The company aims to develop an even wider offer thanks to the technological and manufacturing expertise within the Ansaldo Energia Group.
Enel is a multinational power company and a leading integrated player in the global power and renewables markets.
At global level, it is the largest renewable private player, the foremost electricity distribution network player by number of grid customers served and the biggest retail operator by customer base. The Group is the worldwide demand response leader and the largest European utility by ordinary EBITDA[1].
Enel is present in 29 countries worldwide, producing energy with around 89 GW of total capacity.
Enel Grids, the Group’s global business line dedicated to the management of the electricity distribution service worldwide, delivers electricity through a network of more than 2 million kilometers to over 73 million end users. The Group brings energy to approximately 65 million homes and businesses. Enel’s renewables arm Enel Green Power has a total capacity of around 61 GW and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal and hydro power, as well as energy storage facilities, installed in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Enel X Global Retail, Enel's global business line dedicated to energy supply and management services, has a total capacity of 9.4 GW of demand response managed globally, has installed 105.4 MW of behind-the-meter storage capacity, and owns more than 25,700 public charging points all over the world.
[1] Enel’s leadership in the different categories is defined by comparison with competitors’ FY2022 data. Fully state-owned operators are not included.
The Ansaldo Energia Group, international leader in the field of power generation and key player of the energy transition, is a company controlled by CDP Equity, Gruppo Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.