Italy Reopens Nuclear Path After 39 Years, but Authorizes No Reactor

Italy has reopened a legal path to nuclear power nearly four decades after its previous program ended, but the decision is a regulatory starting point not approval to build a reactor. No project, design or site has been authorized, and the country still must resolve licensing, financing, radioactive waste storage and the uncertain economics of small reactors.

The Senate gave final approval to the legislation on September 23, 2026, by 81 votes to 51, with seven abstentions, after the measure cleared the Chamber of Deputies. The government now has 12 months to draft implementing decrees covering reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management and criteria for future sites.

That distinction matters because a framework can define how nuclear projects will be evaluated without establishing that any proposal is technically acceptable, affordable or publicly supported at a particular location. Italy has changed what may be pursued under national policy, but it has not completed the safety, environmental and commercial decisions required for construction.

The law establishes a process, not a power plant

The government is concentrating on small modular reactors and other advanced technologies rather than simply recreating the four reactor fleet Italy once operated. These newer concepts are intended to use smaller standardized units, potentially allowing capacity to be added in stages instead of through a single large project.

However, the economic advantage associated with modular construction depends heavily on repetition. Factories, qualified suppliers and installation teams must produce enough common units for learning and standardization to offset design, licensing and first of a kind costs. That industrial scale has not yet been commercially demonstrated for small modular reactors operating across Europe.

Industry estimates cited for Italy put one 300 megawatt small modular reactor at €3 billion to €6 billion. That range excludes grid connections and other infrastructure, meaning the eventual system cost could be higher. Before projects can proceed, policymakers would have to determine how construction and financing risks are divided among developers, electricity customers and taxpayers.

That allocation is a public access issue as much as a financing question. Nuclear generation could provide steady low carbon electricity alongside variable renewable resources, as the government argues, but long construction periods and high capital costs can place pressure on customer bills or public budgets well before a reactor produces power. Energy intensive businesses may value dependable generation, while households and other consumers will want clarity about who bears overruns or delays.

Europe is still funding development and licensing

Activity elsewhere in Europe illustrates the maturity gap. The European Investment Bank has agreed to invest up to €40 million in Finnish company Steady Energy, but the funding supports research, testing and licensing through 2028 rather than an operating reactor. Steady Energy’s design is also intended for district heating and industrial uses, not electricity generation, showing that the small reactor category covers different products and markets rather than one interchangeable technology.

EDF has separately said it plans 10 Nuward small modular reactors in the European Union by 2035, with a second unit expected in Italy after an initial French project. That plan indicates potential industrial interest, but it remains a proposed sequence rather than an Italian construction authorization. A future developer would still have to satisfy the rules now being prepared.

Waste and siting cannot be separated from reactor policy

Italy also lacks a permanent national repository for radioactive waste left by its former nuclear program. New reactors would add another long duration waste stream, so waste classification, interim storage, transport responsibilities and repository planning must be integrated into licensing rather than deferred until plants are operating.

Siting presents a related human factors challenge. National support for nuclear technology does not automatically translate into acceptance by communities asked to host a reactor, waste facility or associated infrastructure. A June 2026 Only Numbers survey found that about 55% of Italians supported next generation nuclear plants, but national polling cannot substitute for site specific consultation, environmental assessment and emergency planning.

The historical context makes that process particularly consequential. A 1987 referendum effectively ended Italy’s earlier nuclear program after the Chernobyl disaster, and voters rejected nuclear power again following the Fukushima accident in 2011. Environmental groups opposing the new legislation argue that it disregards those earlier votes. The government, by contrast, describes advanced nuclear technology as a complement to renewables that could support climate goals, rising electricity demand and energy security. Those are projected benefits, not results established by the new law.

The next concrete milestone is therefore not construction but the implementing decrees due within 12 months. Their treatment of licensing authority, safety requirements, waste responsibility, site selection and project finance will determine whether Italy’s reopened nuclear path can advance beyond legislation. Until a design, site and funding structure pass those tests, the country has a route to consider reactors but still no reactor authorized to follow it.

By Thomas Caldwell — AMI’s senior editor for mechanical and mobility engineering, covering vehicle electronics, systems integration, electrification, chassis systems, propulsion, and safety policy.