IDN - Italy North Direction, the presentation by the CEO of Sogin on the future of nuclear power

26 November 2024

The XXIV edition of Italia Direzione Nord (IDN), a conference promoted by the Stelline Foundation in collaboration with Inrete, took place yesterday at the Milan Triennale. This is a significant time for discussing issues related to the country's future production. The title for this year was "People who have something to say" and a binary track on the issues - “What does Italy give to the world?" and "Women's freedom", taking place on the same date as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

 

Sogin contributed to the debate in the round table “Italian Nuclear between Sustainability and Innovation”, moderated by the journalist from Il Sole 24 Ore, Sara Monaci. Specifically, the CEO of Sogin, Gian Luca Artizzu, spoke, along with other sector representatives such as: Alessandro Spada, President of Assolombarda; Roberto Adinolfi, Vice President of the Italian Nuclear Association; Nicola Monti, CEO of Edison; Luca Mastrantonio, Enel’s Head of Innovation Nuclear; Fabio Pinton, CEO of Seingim; Arrigo Giana, CEO of ATM, and, in closing, Luca Squeri, Member of Parliament, Secretary of the X Committee at the Chamber of Deputies.

During his speech, Artizzu stressed the importance of skills in the nuclear sector, in particular in the decommissioning process: “Whoever deals with dismantling, also deals with operations at the facility. When a nuclear facility is dismantled and there is still fuel, which continues to produce radiation, the condition of the plant remains the same, whether it is producing electricity or not. This ensured that Sogin retained nuclear expertise in Italy. ”

 

Artizzu then added, highlighting that "the future of nuclear power is not for everyone - but for those countries and industrial systems that develop and enhance skills, both in engineering and in communication and information to communities".

For the CEO, nuclear represents the only stable source capable of supporting an advanced production system and, without it, Italy risks "becoming irrelevant" from an industrial perspective in a context where it is the only G7 country without nuclear energy.

Considering the current nuclear power plants being decommissioned, Artizzu proposed using them as sites to install renewable facilities or energy storage plants and, thanks to their proximity to high-voltage hubs, proposed looking at the possibility of building Data Centres nearby, even more so in the event of a return to nuclear power.

Safety and waste management were other issues emphasised by the CEO, underlining that "the procedures used by Sogin to dismantle nuclear power plants and manage nuclear fuel are so safe that they only leave little more than the background radiation in the surrounding environment".

The Italia Direzione Nord initiative, under the patronage of the Lombardy Regional Council, the Municipality of Milan and with the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo, represented an important opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the nuclear sector and other issues that are crucial to the country’s future, bringing together more than 100 speakers including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Undersecretaries, Governors, regional and municipal councillors, business leaders, academia and the third sector.