The debate surrounding nuclear power can create the false impression that it is an obsolete sector, one where progress has stagnated and advancements have stalled. But the reality is far from that image. The nuclear sector is one of the areas where there has been significant interest in innovation for years, particularly after accidents like Fukushima, the advance of climate change, and the apparent slowdown in the renewable energy sector.

The Fukushima fifty, referring to the workers who remained inside the nuclear power plant after the March 2011 tsunami, were actually sixty-nine workers. The round number made for a more attractive headline. Fifteen years after that great catastrophe that caused more than twenty thousand deaths, a documentary pays tribute to that team. They acted convinced that risking their own lives was a debt they owed to the citizens. But the disappointment with Tepco's negligence meant that Japanese society did not perceive them as heroes.

Fifteen years after the Fukushima accident, Europe is once again betting on nuclear energyUntil now, only a few member states—especially France, the European Union's leading nuclear power—had advocated for increased nuclear energy production and investment in the sector. Brussels had remained largely neutral, although in 2022 it yielded to French pressure to include nuclear power as a non-polluting energy source, classifying it almost as green energy. Now, however, the European Commission has fully aligned itself with France and believes that nuclear power must be expanded. "Europe made a strategic error by turning its back on a reliable, economical, and low-emission energy source," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her address at the nuclear energy summit held this Tuesday in Paris. The head of the EU executive and French President Emmanuel Macron have demonstrated their unwavering support for nuclear energy. Macron has called for more investment in the sector, especially now that the international geopolitical context is complex and dependence on hydrocarbons "can be an instrument of pressure and destabilization." The wars in Ukraine and Iran have made the vulnerability and energy dependence of many countries more evident, exposing them to escalating oil and gas prices. Nuclear energy accounts for 10% of the world's electricity production, with some 450 reactors spread across about thirty countries; France alone has 56.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian approved a law on Wednesday that suspends the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), According to Iranian television, the decision to break relations with the IAEA was already approved by Parliament the day after the ceasefire agreed with the United States and Israel, and last week it received the approval of Iran's Guardian Council, but the signature of the president was required.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the country's independent nuclear regulatory commission to reduce regulations and speed up the process of granting new licenses for reactors and power plants. The goal is to reduce the process to eighteen months.

Hello, how are you?