Belgium likely to shut down existing nuclear power plants by 2025 – investing in new technology

Broadcasters RTBF and VRT reported this on Thursday. The controversial issue has kept the seven parties in the government coalition on their toes for weeks. Belgium still currently has two nuclear power plants at Doyle in Flanders and Tiang in Wallonia. In the German border region around Aachen, the atomic plant at Tiang in particular has repeatedly caused protests, as it is considered prone to failure. A total of seven reactors in Belgium are operated by French utility company Engie.

But according to media reports, the government’s decision in Brussels does not provide for the end of nuclear power per se, as Belgium wants to invest 100 million euros in the search for new technologies. The country wants to focus primarily on the concept of a new reactor known in technical jargon as Small Modular Reactors (SMR). According to the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management, SMR can achieve safety advantages over higher production nuclear power plants, as it has a lower radioactive stock per reactor.

With the end of the old generation of reactors in Belgium, the question remains how the energy bottlenecks can be avoided. Gas-fired power plants are an option. A decision on this should be made by March 2022.