Serbia intends to complete the first phase of its nuclear program by the middle of next year and launch the construction of a facility by 2035 at the latest, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said. She revealed that a decision was taken for France’s EDF, after it completed the preliminary study, to conduct four more within the first phase. Another 14 studies will follow.
Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said at the opening of the workshop on the role of the Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organization (NEPIO) that Serbia is developing its program gradually and responsibly, in accordance with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We have defined the project tasks for producing all the necessary studies in accordance with the methodology of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the nuclear infrastructure development approach (IAEA milestones). They encompass topics such as the regulatory and legislative framework, environmental protection, human resources capacity building, and supply chains. The preliminary study on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, which we conducted with the French electric utility EDF, has already given us some answers, and our decision, based on previous cooperation with EDF, which has extensive experience and international expertise in this field, is for EDF to conduct four more studies in the first phase, while the remaining 14 will be the subject of further consideration with different companies from which we gathered expressions of interest and which have extensive experience in the development of nuclear programs at the European and global level, and which have participated in the development of nuclear programs in other countries,” Đedović Handanović stated at the gathering in Belgrade.
Of note, Serbia recently received an offer from China for a modular nuclear reactor project. In the last couple of years, Serbia has also established dialogue or cooperation with Slovenia, the United States, Russia, and South Korea.
Technology to be selected by 2032
Opening the four-day workshop, which the ministry organized with the support of the IAEA and the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate (Srbatom), Đedović Handanović pointed out that the event represents another important step in strengthening Serbia’s institutional capacities for the development of a nuclear program.
Meeting the growing needs for energy from clean sources is difficult to imagine without nuclear energy
“Our goal is to complete the first phase by the middle of next year, when we will have all the information necessary to make an informed decision on the further development of the nuclear program. By 2032, we expect to be ready, in an institutional, regulatory and professional sense, to select the technology and start the construction process, by 2035,” she stated.
Investments of EUR 3 billion blueprinted
Nuclear energy development is also recognized in the Serbia 2035 program, with plans for investments of around EUR 3 billion, Đedović Handanović noted.
“I am convinced that we have a generational opportunity that we must not miss, but leave behind something that is of capital value and gives Serbia an opportunity to develop, while being more energy secure. Countries that developed a nuclear program have also advanced in other areas that accompany a nuclear program. Experience from the United Arab Emirates has shown that domestic personnel and the local economy are essential components of a nuclear program that create new opportunities,” the minister said.
The coming era of electricity means that development will increasingly rely on data centers, artificial intelligence, and the electrification of industry and transport, she underscored. Meeting the growing needs for energy from clean sources is difficult to imagine without nuclear energy, according to the minister.
Initiative for master’s program for nuclear engineers
Đedović Handanović especially stressed the importance of developing domestic professional personnel and welcomed the initiative of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences and the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, to launch a master’s program for the education of future nuclear engineers.
“Without domestic experts, there is no successful nuclear program. That is why we expect the members of the NEPIO body to approach this work with full dedication, because they are part of a historical moment for Serbian energetics. Just as generations of engineers and experts four and five decades ago built energy capacities that still ensure the security of supply today, so will today’s generation shape the future of the Serbian energy sector for decades to come,” the minister asserted.
Đedović Handanović concluded that the workshop represents the beginning of more intensive cooperation between Serbia and the IAEA.
