Serbia wants to cooperate with French EDF in nuclear energy

Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović spoke with a delegation from France’s EDF. The topic of the meeting was cooperation in the energy sector, with an emphasis on peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Government of Serbia is estimating the nuclear energy potential on the basis of specific requirements and the country’s possibilities, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said. She met with a delegation from France’s state-owned energy company EDF within bilateral efforts to kickstart cooperation regarding the peaceful use of the technology.

“During the visit of President Aleksandar Vučić to Paris this year, a memorandum of understanding was signed with EDF on a strategic partnership and cooperation in setting up the framework for a long-term dialogue in the realm of the energy transition and low-carbon technologies. The exchange of knowledge and experiences with the aim of empowering domestic experts is the next step and the trajectory within which we are planning to deepen the cooperation with the company,” Đedović Handanović stated.

EDF sees Serbia in nuclear energy value chain

EDF’s representatives acquainted the minister with its business strategy including the construction of a nuclear energy fleet throughout Europe, in a complete European value chain. It should bolster the increase in competition and the resilience of energy system throughout the continent, the ministry said and added that the company sees Serbia as part of the process.

The French utility is the largest electricity producer in Europe. It employs 50,000 people in the nuclear energy sector, of which 7,000 are engineers.

“The Ministry of Mining and Energy will soon conduct a public procurement on producing a preliminary technical study, to consider peaceful use of nuclear energy. EDF’s representatives have expressed interest in participation, which I see as very important, given their experience in similar projects in the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and throughout Europe”, Đedović Handanović said.

Public debate on draft changes to Law on Energy to be held during summer

The minister noted that one of the scenarios in the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan – INECP or NECP – includes the potential introduction of nuclear energy in Serbia’s national mix as a baseload energy source. A public debate will be held in the summer on changing the Law on Energy, she revealed.

“The matter of utilizing nuclear energy must primarily be determined on the legislative level so that Serbia has a possibility to start considering the development of a nuclear program in line with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. We will need much more energy in the future, primarily because of the expected economic growth and economic development, and nuclear energy is baseload energy that emits several times less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, and we should consider it as one of the potential solutions on the energy transition path,” Đedović Handanović said.