Jul 13, 2022
Grace, from your Investor Relations team, discusses the EU's updated plans for energy independence. Titan’s Takeaway: We believe that nuclear energy generates clean, safe, and reliable baseload power.
Grace, from your Investor Relations team, discusses the EU's updated plans for energy independence.
Titan’s Takeaway: We believe that nuclear energy generates clean, safe, and reliable baseload power. With nuclear energy now dubbed as “green” we expect renewed interest in deploying current nuclear fleets to deliver on carbon emissions targets and improve energy security for the Eurozone.
The EU voted last week to dub Natural Gas and Nuclear energy "green". The new taxonomy will be used as a framework for the union to steer toward ambitious climate goals.
Now, gas-fired plants will be characterized as a transitional energy source as long as they replace coal plants, switch to hydrogen by 2035, and stay under an emissions cap for 20 years.
Nuclear plants receive a green "star" if they agree to switch to "accident-tolerant fuels" beginning in 2035 and develop plans for final radioactive waste storage by 2050.
The new labels didn't come without controversy. For some, the new agreement is necessary as Europe confronts an energy crisis of historical magnitude from Russia's war on Ukraine. For others, this new approach contradicts the EU's pledge for renewable energy and comes amidst fierce pushback against the wider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing industry and accusations of greenwashing.
For us, this new ruling makes us even more optimistic regarding our uranium thesis long-term. With nuclear officially "green," nuclear power projects will now be able to attract billions of new investment capital in a sector with $120B of global ESG fund flows. This new funding could accelerate the development of new reactors, update old ones, and help member states deliver on their carbon emission targets.
Ultimately this may be very positive for nuclear power and our uranium investments but also a potentially transformative event for climate policy. Confronting this crisis requires all hands on deck, and we believe encouraging safe and effective nuclear energy is a requisite to smooth the transition.