Deputy Economy Minister Kamil Šaško not only discussed gas supplies but also development of nuclear energy.
He attended a meeting of the so-called nuclear alliance, which was initiated by France at the beginning of 2023. The European Commission wants to develop small nuclear reactors. The Commission hopes to have the first ones operational ‘at the beginning of the next decade.’
Šaško confirmed Slovakia is very active in this area and already working on it to some extent within the Phoenix project. This was announced by the US President's Special Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, at the COP27 climate conference in 2022.
It aims to support energy security and climate goals by creating pathways for the conversion of coal-fired power plants to SMR (small nuclear reactor) plants by retraining the local workforce. The first recipients, announced in September 2023, were the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, Slovenia was added in February of this year.
"We also welcome the creation of such a European alliance,” said Šaško. “We are a country that advocates a nuclear-based future. All future and available technologies must be supported from our point of view," he said.
(TASR)
