During his state visit to Slovenia, French President Emmanuel Macron and Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob signed a Declaration of Intent to Establish Long-Term Cooperation in the Field of Nuclear Energy. During a press conference following the signing, Golob said: “France is a European nuclear superpower. It is a country that is building its carbon-free future on the development of nuclear energy.”
He added: “It is also the only country in Europe that invests in this development – the success of the entire value chain, including the production of individual NPP components, entire nuclear power plants, their management and network solutions.”
He noted: “If and when Slovenia decides to build another unit at the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, it will choose equally between two high-quality and qualified providers, not just American technology, which we already have [at Krško], but also French technology. I believe that with two equal suppliers at our disposal, we will be able to choose the solution that will be best for Slovenia in the long term and will also give this project a real regional character.”
He said: “We often hear that the construction of a new nuclear power plant may be too much for Slovenia. And it is true. We are not planning it exclusively for Slovenia, but as a facility with which the region of Southeastern Europe would satisfy a large part of its electricity needs. And this is precisely one of the advantages that French suppliers can offer.”
In response, Macron said: “Regarding nuclear energy, we want a true strategic partnership and not just a trade partnership. Because we want to give your country the opportunity to produce everything – from turbines to solutions for the disposal of radioactive waste. At the same time, we also need much better energy integration of Slovenia into the region and into Europe, so we also need greater competitiveness. This is the vision that we have for France, for Europe, and also for this partnership, namely that we will be competitive, that our production will be more decarbonised.”
The Krško NPP, with a 696 MWe Westinghouse pressurised water reactor generating about one-third of the country’s electricity, is owned and operated by Nuklearna Elektrarna Krško, jointly owned by Croatia’s Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP Group) and Slovenia’s GEN Energija. Slovenia is considering building a second unit (JEK2) at the site. The JEK2 project is for a plant with up to 2400 MWe capacity.
Slovenia had been due to hold a referendum on new nuclear in November 2024, but it was cancelled amid a political scandal. Prime Minister Robert Golob, however, remains committed to holding a referendum before a final investment decision is taken. A final investment decision is expected in 2029, with construction beginning in 2033 and commercial operation in 2041.
The JEK2 project team, had originally been discussed with potential suppliers EDF, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Westinghouse. However, KHNP withdrew from the process in January and feasibility studies were then requested from Westinghouse and EDF. JEK2 has now published the technical performance studies, which were subsequently conducted for EDF’s EPR or the EPR1200 and Westinghouse’s AP1000, noting that both proved to be technically feasible for the JEK2 location.
