Italy’s Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a framework law paving the country’s return to nuclear power four decades after Chernobyl pushed Rome to abandon the technology. The upper house passed the bill 81-51 with 7 abstentions, sending it to the government to draft implementing regulations over the next 12 months.
SMR-Focused, Not A Reactor Build Order
The legislation does not authorize any specific reactor construction. Instead it establishes a legal skeleton for “next-generation” nuclear technologies, directing ministries to define reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management and site criteria within a year. Officials have said the emphasis will be on small modular reactors (SMRs) rather than the conventional gigawatt-scale plants Italy shuttered after a 1987 referendum.
Industry estimates for a single 300 MW SMR unit run between €3 billion and €6 billion — a spread that reflects the still-experimental status of the technology globally.
Political And Investment Context
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition has pushed the return as a way to shore up baseload generation as coal is retired and industrial power demand from AI data centers and battery gigafactories rises. Opposition parties and environmental groups pointed to still-unresolved questions on decommissioning liability and radioactive waste storage.
Independent energy adviser Massimo Nicolazzi told local media the framework “will also make clear the limited interest of private investors” in SMR projects until at least one commercial reference plant is running in Europe.
Where Italy Fits In Europe
The vote positions Italy alongside France, the UK, Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden as European economies committing to new nuclear capacity. Coverage of the sector on The Robotics Media includes Holtec's paused Nasdaq IPO and a House bill on SMR ratepayer costs.
Reporting based on coverage from The Associated Press via ABC News and Reuters.