EDF (Électricité de France), Edison, Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo Nucleare, and the Italian steel federation Federacciai have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the use of nuclear energy in the Italian steel industry, focusing on the construction of innovative small modular reactor (SMR) plants and long-term energy supply through the interconnector between Italy and France.
This agreement aims to improve industrial competitiveness and achieve the EU's decarbonization goals by 2050. Each company will contribute its specific expertise: Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo Nucleare in energy industry and nuclear engineering, EDF as a global leader in nuclear energy production, Edison in energy transition, and Federacciai as the representative of the Italian steel industry.
The leaders of the companies involved emphasized the importance of this collaboration in guiding the transition towards a sustainable steel industry, enhancing Italy's energy independence, and promoting the country's technological and economic development.
"The agreement signed today is of crucial importance for the Italian steel industry and the entire production chain," said Antonio Gozzi, president of Federacciai. He went on to state, "The commitment of Italian steelmakers is clear: we intend to lead the transition towards a fully sustainable steel industry. Thanks to agreements like this, Italy can become, within a few years, the first country in the world to produce fully decarbonized steel. Nuclear energy will be a strategic and indispensable component to achieve these ambitious goals, ensuring the industry a secure and environmentally-friendly energy supply. We will work to ensure that this important initial agreement can serve as an example to extend to all hard-to-abate industrial sectors: only in this way will we achieve the most ambitious decarbonization goals."