France has become Europe’s largest net power exporter after the country’s state-backed nuclear power operator finally fixed cracks in its ageing fleet of reactors while Germany has shifted from exporter to importer – due to its decision to phase out nuclear power plants.

France’s total net exports stood at 17.6 TWh in the first six months of 2023, according to data analysis company Enappsys. This is roughly enough energy to power 5 million homes for a year.

Enappsys said most of this flowed to Italy and Britain, which were the two largest importers of energy in Europe over the same period.

Jean-Paul Harreman, director of Enappsys, said: “The cause for the increase of exports in France versus the previous year was an increased availability of the country’s nuclear assets.”