To create the nuclear power of tomorrow, the State must decide and not play “fan school”

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COP 29 has just ended in the capital of Azerbaijan in Baku. In this city that grew up with oil, the major nations have not managed to reach an agreement to end the exploitation of fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil).

They are notably used to produce electricity (and more generally energy). But in France, we have a completely different model to produce our electricity, at low cost, and without (too much) polluting the planet: nuclear power.

If the Chernobyl accident, and more recently that of Fukushima, remind us that nuclear power is not without risk, France is increasingly banking on this energy, and new reactors could well see the light of day in the coming years.

If the ITER project north of Marseille is a jewel that the world envies us, France (with its France 2030 financing plan) is also banking on SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) and AMRs (Advanced Modular Reactors).

Microreactors: the future of nuclear power

Behind these six letters, there are 11 projects, start-ups, which have received funding from the State to accelerate their development. On paper, the start-ups were supposed to share a billion euros, but in the end the State has only signed a check for 130 million so far. The rest is still awaited, while the initial enthusiasm is slowly fading.

While a nuclear policy council was planned for December, it seems to have been postponed until early next year. For its part, the executive is taking advantage of these few months of respite to “sort through” the projects.

Funding still in question

In an era of economic restraint, Paris does not want to finance fanciful plans and only the most mature projects will receive the second wave of funding. The most “disruptive” projects logically feel in the hot seat and the clarifications provided by Matignon to our colleagues at Les Échos are not really there to reassure them.

On the one hand, it is assured that all projects will be listened to and that a “funnel logic” does not necessarily mean the end of “projects based on disruptive innovations.” But on the other hand, the entrepreneurs behind these companies know full well that a major “sorting” will be done on the 11 projects already in the running.

For a start-up founder, interviewed by Les Échos, for the time being, the government is playing “fan school” by rewarding all projects. During an oral restitution made this month, many would have received praise from Paris, without conditions of results.

Fundraising at a standstill

But this political imbroglio has other, much more concrete consequences. French companies, while waiting for the verdict from Matignon, are increasingly being refused support from private investors. What fund would want to take the risk of supporting a project that could be disavowed in a few weeks by the executive ?

Faced with this double talk “no one will be abandoned” but “we will sort it out”, nuclear companies are marking time. While France has been a pioneer on the subject of nuclear power since its introduction in the 1970s, it could lose this lead at a time when low-carbon energies are gaining in importance.

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