Europe’s biggest copper producer wants nuclear energy to be labeled green

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European industries could only grow using clean energy if the European Union (EU) decides to classify certain investments in nuclear power plants as sustainable, the head of Europe’s top copper producer told Bloomberg in an interview. .

“There is no other logical way for European industries to develop, based on clean energy, than through nuclear energy,” said Marcin Chludzinski, managing director of Polish copper producer KGHM Polska Miedz. , to Bloomberg.

“Even though we maintain profitable production despite rising gas and electricity costs, some European steelmakers are no longer able to do so,” Chludzinski added.

KGHM Polska Miedz announced last September a preliminary agreement with the American company NuScale Power to develop and build the first small nuclear reactor (SMR) in Poland.

KGHM Polska Miedz, one of the biggest consumers of electricity in a country where coal currently accounts for around 70% of electricity generation, is exploring low-emission solutions to power its operations as it aims to be carbon neutral in its own broadcasts by 2050.

Yet the question of whether nuclear power should be considered ‘green’ has created a row among EU member states, with some strongly supporting the idea – including Poland and France – and others hating it. openly the possibility of affixing a sustainability label to nuclear energy. These include Germany and Austria.

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Earlier this year, the European Commission launched expert consultations on whether nuclear power and certain natural gas projects can be considered “sustainable” investments, receiving an immediate backlash against “nuclear green” from Germany and Austria, who have accused the EU executive of greenwashing.

Austria opposed labeling nuclear energy as “sustainable” and, unlike Germany, criticized the European Commission for considering including certain natural gas projects in the “sustainable” taxonomy. “.

Over the weekend, Germany again criticized the “green” nuclear classification.

“As a federal government, we have once again clearly expressed our rejection of the inclusion of nuclear energy. It’s risky and expensive,” Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a joint statement with Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, picked up by Reuters.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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