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Belgium is seeking to buy its nuclear power assets from France’s Engie as it considers restarting more reactors amid a European shift to nuclear power following recent energy crises.
“An agreement has been reached with Engie to define the conditions and start the necessary studies for a complete takeover of the Belgian nuclear fleet,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever wrote on Thursday on X. “All disassembly work is suspended with immediate effect.”
Engie and the Belgian state, which only a few years ago wanted to turn its back on nuclear energy, said discussions on nationalization were preliminary and that they aimed to reach an agreement by October.
They did not disclose financial details but said any deal would be financially neutral for both parties, meaning Engie may not pocket a large cash profit from the sale but could also pass on liabilities associated with the transfer of the factories and employees.
A Belgian official said: “Due diligence investigations will start to properly assess the status of all reactors and to make a proper valuation of a possible takeover. This may mean that we will extend reactors that should have been decommissioned.”
Belgium was one of several European countries that postponed plans to abandon nuclear power after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to an energy crisis and a rise in inflation. The war in Iran has given the sector even more momentum.
The Belgian government has finally extended the life of two reactors previously earmarked for decommissioning, and is now considering what to do with another five reactors that are in various stages of closure.
The seven reactors were all supposed to be decommissioned at some point by 2025, a move that suited Engie, a gas distributor and renewable energy specialist that wanted to phase out its nuclear activities.
As Belgium hesitated, Engie finally agreed in 2023 to extend the life of two of the reactors until 2035, but did so reluctantly, according to people familiar with the talks.
The country has now suggested it could go further and try to build more capacity or reopen a third reactor that was earmarked for decommissioning, the people added.
Engie had previously said the complex decommissioning of the reactors would cost 8.4 billion euros, and had asked Belgium for financial compensation for the costs involved in changing course on the two reactors now in operation. Once dismantling has begun, restarting nuclear power can be extremely expensive and involve difficult feasibility studies.
Other countries sticking with nuclear power include France, which wants to build at least six new reactors from 2040 to replace its aging fleet, and Sweden, Britain and the Czech Republic, which want to expand their nuclear power fleets.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last month that Europe had made a “strategic mistake” by turning away from nuclear power in the wake of Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster, which led to countries like her native Germany dismantling their nuclear power stations.
The Commission also recently outlined a strategy to support the development of small modular reactors, which are commercially unproven but proponents claim they can provide small-scale nuclear energy that is easier to scale up than large reactors.
