Environment

Why Europe is pivoting back to nuclear — one of its most divisive energy sources

Published

2 months ago

May 27, 2025

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The Cofrentes nuclear power plant, on 17 October, 2024 in Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain.

Europa Press News | Europa Press | Getty Images

A European-wide shift to nuclear power appears to be gathering momentum as countries hedge their bets in pursuit of more energy independence.

In just the last few weeks, Denmark announced plans to reconsider a 40-year ban on nuclear power as part of a major policy shift, Spain reportedly signaled an openness to review a shutdown of its nuclear plants and Germany dropped its long-held opposition to atomic power.

The renewed European interest in nuclear shows how some countries are hedging their bets in pursuit of more energy independence.

The burgeoning trend appears to be driven, at least in part, by some of the costs associated with renewables, notably solar and wind technologies.

“Solar and wind are still the cheapest and fastest way to drive the green transition, and that remains our focus. But we also need to understand whether new nuclear technologies can play a supporting role,” Lars Aagaard, Denmark’s minister for climate, energy and utilities, told CNBC via email.

The renewables-heavy Scandinavian country said in mid-May that it plans to analyze the potential benefits and risks of new advanced nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors, to complement solar and wind technologies.

Denmark’s government, which banned the use of atomic energy in 1985, added that it does not plan a return to traditional nuclear power plants.

“We have no recent experience with nuclear power, and we lack the necessary knowledge regarding safety and waste management. That’s why we must begin a serious analysis — not to replace solar and wind, but to see whether new nuclear can complement our energy system in the future,” Aagaard said.

Wind turbines of Vestas, a global leader in sustainable energy solutions, is pictured at the Port of Odense, Denmark on October 15, 2024.

Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images

Georg Zachmann, senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank, said nuclear power remains the most divisive electricity generation technology in Europe.

“Thereby, the renaissance of nuclear in the political discourse is somewhat surprising, given that the cost of main competing technologies, new wind and solar plants, have dropped by more than 80 percent, while those of nuclear plants have rather increased,” Zachmann said.

The so-called “hidden cost” of balancing and transporting electricity from renewables has been increasing with rising shares of wind and solar generation, Zachmann said, noting that this theme has recently become more apparent.

Revived European interest in nuclear

Spain signaled its openness to atomic energy late last month. In an interview reported by Bloomberg, Spanish Environmental Transition Minister Sara Aagesen said that while the government is proceeding with plans to retire nuclear energy reactors over the next decade, extensions beyond 2035 could not be ruled out.

Aagsen said at the time that the government was not considering anything, and no specific proposals had yet been tabled.

Widely regarded as anti-nuclear power, the southern European country has been mired in a blackout blame game over green energy in recent weeks. It follows a catastrophic power outage affecting much of Spain, Portugal and the south of France.

The discussion whether to prefer nuclear or renewables only helps natural gas — that continues to be burnt as long as investments in clean electricity do not happen at scale.

Georg Zachmann

Senior fellow at Bruegel

Some external observers have flagged renewables and net-zero emissions targets as possible reasons for the outage, particularly given Spain and Portugal both rely on high levels of wind and solar for their electricity grid.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the country’s grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE), however, have both said record levels of renewable energy were not at fault for the blackout.

Germany, which closed the last of its three remaining nuclear plants in 2023, recently scrapped its opposition to nuclear power in what marked a rapprochement with France.

Onlookers watch as the first of the two cooling towers of the nuclear power plant collapses during a controlled demolition in Grafenrheinfeld, Germany on August 16, 2024.

Daniel Peter | Afp | Getty Images

Led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the newly elected government was said to have dropped its objection to French efforts to ensure that nuclear power is treated on a par with renewables in EU legislation, the Financial Times reported on May 19, citing French and German officials.

Spokespeople for France and Germany’s respective governments were not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC.

Natural gas

As it is low-carbon, advocates argue that nuclear power has the potential to play a significant role in helping countries generate electricity while slashing emissions and reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.

Some environmental groups, however, say the nuclear industry is an expensive and harmful distraction to cheaper and cleaner alternatives.

Bruegel’s Zachmann said the ability of fully depreciated nuclear power plants to continue operating much beyond their lifetime, as well as the “highly uncertain” hope that next-generation small modular reactors “can be built very cheaply captures the imagination of industry and policymakers.”

In all likelihood, Zachmann said “new nuclear power plants will remain difficult to finance and will at very best only pay off in decades. In the meantime, the discussion whether to prefer nuclear or renewables only helps natural gas — that continues to be burnt as long as investments in clean electricity do not happen at scale.”

Data published by energy think tank Ember found that the EU’s electricity system continued a rapid shift toward renewables in the first half of last year. Indeed, wind and solar power rose to record highs over the six-month period, reaching a share of 30% of the bloc’s electricity generation and overtaking fossil fuels for the first time.

Alongside renewables growth, Ember said at the time that nuclear generation across the EU increased by 3.1%.

Environment

Forbidden fruit: new Volkswagen Passat eHybrid Match and Black Editions

Published

9 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Forbidden fruit: new Volkswagen Passat eHybrid Match and Black Editions

New Volkswagen Passat eHybrid Match and Black Editions add £5k of options for free

Wagons don’t get a lot of love Stateside, with American buyers choosing SUVs over – well, pretty much every other type of vehicle imaginable. That’s our loss, as the latest plug in hybrid versions of the Volkswagen Passat are here to prove.

The latest Passat Variant eHybrid (or, in some markets, Vario, which is what the Europeans like to call wagons) is different from the version we get in the US. Unlike the domestic version which is based on a low-cost platform specific to the US and China, the Euro-market version is built on the MQB platform that underpins VW’s flagship Arteon four-door coupe and both VW‘s and Audi’s entry-luxe SUVs.

That might seem weird, since VW has sold more than 34 million units sold worldwide and the Passat is the second top-selling Volkswagen of all time (behind the Golf and ahead of the Beetle). It’s understandable, then, that the European execs are pretty proud of their Passat.

The latest evolutionary stage of the modular transverse matrix (MQB evo)forms the highly innovative technical basis of the ninth Passat generation. Thanks to the significant economies of scale of the MQB evo, Volkswagen has again democratised numerous high-tech developments and made them available for hundreds of thousands of drivers. The two completely newly developed plug-in hybrid drives (eHybrid) are a perfect example of this. In combination with a new battery, they make all-electric ranges of around 100 km possible. This distance turns the new Passat Variant into an electric vehicle for everyday life – this is additionally ensured by short charging times as the battery can now be charged at AC charge points with 11 kW instead of the previous 3.6 kW. The Passat Variant eHybrid can even be charged with up to 50 kW at DC fast charging stations. In addition, the combination of electric drive motor and new economical turbocharged petrol engine provides overall ranges of around 1,000 km.

KAI GRÜNITZ
Member of the Brand Board of Management, VW

In case the jealous American wago-philes reading this aren’t jealous enough, Volkswagen has announced new Passat eHybrid Match and Black Editions that add nearly £5k of options for the new model year effectively for free.

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“Match is better equipped than the outgoing Life, with additional features including metallic paint, VW’s IQ.Light LED matrix headlights, tinted rear windows and an ‘assistance pack’ which adds area view and emergency assist,” reports Alastair Crooks, from the UK car site AutoExpress. “The new Black Edition comes with metallic paint, 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, tinted rear windows (darker than the Match’s), heated front and rear seats, a head-up display, a 15-inch central touchscreen and the same assistance pack as the Match.”

The entry-level Match replaces the previous Life trim, but costs the same £45,555 (about $60,500), while the Black Edition costs the same as the outgoing R-Line, from £48,900 (about $64,950). The order books open 14 August.

You can take a look at some of the VW press photos of the European Passat ~~wagon~~ Variant, below, then let us know if you’d rather have this for $60K or the discount American version in the comments.

VW Passat Variant gallery

SOURCE | IMAGES: VW, via AutoExpress.

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Environment

E-quipment highlight: Wirtgen Vögele launches new electric MINI pavers

Published

11 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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E-quipment highlight: Wirtgen Vögele launches new electric MINI pavers

Wirtgen’s Vögele Launches New Electric Pavers

Wirtgen Vögele recently revealed the battery-powered MINI 500e and the MINI 502e electric pavers. With an electrically heated screed, a range of paving widths, and zero-emission operations, they’re paving a greener, cleaner path.

Co-developed by Wirtgen Vögele and Italian road equipment manufacturer C. M. S.r.l., the new electric pavers will enable contractors to bid on construction projects that are subject to even the strictest noise and emission limits – but the company is quick to point out that they’re capable enough to serve on conventional job sites.

“These pavers excel on small-scale construction projects and jobs covering a small area – the type of work for which paving crews would not previously have been able to use machines,” reads the official Wirtgen Vögele copy. “Thanks to their elimination of manual labor, among other benefits, the new MINI pavers improve the efficiency and quality of asphalt paving, particularly in the construction of sidewalks and drains, as well as in tight downtown locations.”

The new Wirtgen MINI 502e (the one with wheels) and the MINI 500e (the one with crawler tracks) offer pave widths from 0.25 to 1.8 m, feature a battery-electric drive outputting 22.8 kW (30 hp), and your choice of either a 15 kWh or 22 kWh 48V li-ion battery – good enough battery capacity for up to 16 hours of continuing paving. Both versions can be fully charged on a conventional 110/120 “L1” power socket in about eight hours.

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Electrek’s Take

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the federal EV incentives are or even what the guys on your crew want to operate. What matters is that construction noise upsets Mrs. Clancik’s terrier, and she will force the town council to keep the noise down all by herself.

If your construction company wants to bid on any municipal work, that means you’re gonna have to stay quiet. Maybe even keep the smells to a minimum, too. Buying electric equipment means you can do both.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Wirtgen, via Construction Equipment International.

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Environment

Is this Hyundai IONIQ the safest affordable EV you can buy?

Published

17 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Is this Hyundai IONIQ the safest affordable EV you can buy?

The Cheapest, Safest EV In America This Year

Car brands like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla have built up solid reputations for safety, but their ultra-safe vehicles often come with a premium price tag. The good news for car buyers looking for a deal, but still prize safety, is that there’s an all-electric Hyundai for under $40K that scores top marks on the IIHS’ toughest new safety tests.

SKIP THE STORY: take me to the deals.

Last Februray, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) established new benchmark criteria that included stricter side-impact and moderate overlap crash safety standards, improved safety for back seat passengers, and a stronger emphasis on pedestrian detection in low light.

“We followed the tougher requirements we introduced last year with another major update to the award criteria,” explains IIHS President David Harkey. “(The 2024) winners are true standouts, offering the highest level of protection for both vehicle occupants and other vulnerable road users.”

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is making it harder to earn its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards from 2024, challenging manufacturers to offer better protection for back seat passengers and improve their pedestrian crash avoidance systems.

IIHS

We’ve covered a few of the standout performers already over the past year-plus since the new safety standards were awarded, including the Rivian R1T (the only electric pickup to earn the coveted Top Safety Pick+ award), Audi Q6 e-tron, and the Tesla Model Y … but what we haven’t written about was the fact that the Hyundai IONIQ 6 was the only electric sedan to get a Top Safety Pick+, as well.

Why it matters, now

Hyundai-free-charger-EVs-IONIQ-6 — Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited, via Hyundai.

With the average transaction price of a new car at $48,907 and the looming demise of the $7,500 Federal tax credit accelerating demand for EVs (even for those that may not qualify), new EV buyers looking for a dependable commuter with long-range chops, ultra-fast charging capabilities, and the latest infotainment tech for under $40,000 have precious few options. And, if that Top Safety Pick+ rating is a must have? They only have one.

The good news is that it’s an excellent option. The 2024 version was named Car and Driver‘s 2023 EV of the Year, and led our own Scooter Doll to ask, “is any other automaker delivering more value in high-tech EVs right now?” and Nigel Evans over at CarBuzz to write, “Comparing the Ioniq 6 to its rivals is also an interesting exercise. For example, the Tesla Model 3 RWD now costs more than $40,000, with questionable interior design and layout and no Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS. You can’t get the Chevrolet Bolt or Bolt EUV anymore in the budget EV sector, but they also lacked fast-charging capability.”

With up to 342 miles of range and a starting MSRP of $37,850 with all trims eligible for $7,500 in Retail Bonus Cash through Labor Day plus dealer discounts (if you can get them) bringing the price down even further, there’s a nonzero chance car buyers will be able to score a 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 6 for a sub-30K transaction price. Other featured deals include 0% interest financing for up to 48 months on any 2025 IONIQ 5 models in dealer inventory for well-qualified buyers, while lease buyers able to get a new SE model for $199/mo. with $3,999 down.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Hyundai, IIHS; via CarBuzz.

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