To achieve its target of climate neutrality in 2050, the European Union will face a deep transition of its entire economy. While all sectors will have to contribute to the transition effort, the decarbonisation of the energy sector will be of utmost importance.
Shifting away from fossil fuels will require massive electrification of consumption and production and the equivalent increase of carbon-neutral electricity and heat production in Europe. To match the rise of carbon-neutral electricity demand, the European Union must foster the development and scale up of renewable, carbon-neutral and low-carbon production technologies.
The key to a successful electrification will thereby rely in the diversification of the production capacities. The European Union will need both renewable and nuclear production capacities to reach carbon neutrality in 2050 and preserve the competitiveness of its industry.
Moreover, without nuclear energy, it will be very difficult to scale AI and digitalization in Europe without increasing dependency on foreign energy and critical raw materials. In some Member States, data centres already require up to 25% of total electricity consumption and this is expected to rise in the near future.