The Italian energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who headed a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) countries’ energy ministers in Turin on 29 April, said at a preceding nuclear power event that Italy would join the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors to develop such reactors.

Pichetto Fratin said that “a contribution from nuclear energy in our energy mix would help Italy a lot in meeting the net zero target by 2050”. He was speaking at an event on 28 April dedicated to “the role of nuclear power in energy transition”.

At the event, he also highlighted the role of SMRs as they could reduce costs and help decarbonise highly polluting sectors such as steel production.