The Slovak Republic has made significant progress in reaching its climate and energy goals owing to its low-emissions electricity system and in particular nuclear power. This is the conclusion of a recent IEA report which highlights the central role nuclear power plays in the country’s long-term decarbonisation strategy, as well as ensuring energy security. Nuclear, together with hydropower and other renewables collectively meet around 85% of the country’s electricity demand, putting it on a solid footing for a net zero electricity system. Nonetheless, the IEA also highlights that the country needs to undertake in end-use sectors to achieve its climate neutrality goal by 2050, specifically in its industrial base which is dominated by energy-intensive industries heavily reliant on fossil fuels. This leaves producers and industries susceptible to volatility and price shocks and the report, ‘The Slovak Republic 2024: Energy Policy Review’ notes that the country is well placed to address these risks by actively pursuing plans for the construction of additional nuclear power. The IEA notes that government policy to advance the country’s nuclear power fleet is well aligned with public support too.
Nuclear and increasing climate ambitions
While Slovakia has a very high share of low-carbon electricity, nuclear is the country’s main source of electricity generation, accounting for 63% of the total in 2023, followed by hydropower with 14%. Fossil fuels only play a minor role in electricity generation mix at 15%.
The country has five operating reactors, all of which are VVER 440 V-213 PWRs, which collectively supply something above 2300 MWe of capacity. Two units are operating at Bohunice and a further three are currently generating at Mochovce. The 471 MWe Mochovce unit 3 was completed in 2023 while the 471 MWe Mochovce unit 4 unit is expected to become operational this year. Its operator Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) began hot testing in March 2025.
According to the IEA, the government is committed to maintaining the role of nuclear power in its generation portfolio and is pursuing plans for the construction of both large nuclear power plants and exploring the role small modular reactors could also play. The government is also assessing how to better harness the potential of nuclear energy to supply heat and to contribute to the decarbonisation of its hard-to-abate industrial sectors.
The IEA says that, mindful of geopolitical developments, the Slovak Republic should diversify sources of safety-related components and fuel for all its operating nuclear units. A new generation of workers with also need to be trained for the proposed new build nuclear. The IEA encourages the government to develop a long-term strategic roadmap covering all elements of the value chain and assess in detail the role nuclear can play in a net zero future. This will also give visibility to industry and set out the enabling conditions to support its nuclear ambitions, including the role of small modular reactors. Furthermore, the IEA encourages the government to develop a long-term strategic roadmap to address all elements of the nuclear power value chain and the role that it can play in reaching net zero goals.
Future low-carbon progress
The Slovak Republic is not currently on track to meet its draft 2030 emissions reductions target although the IEA observes that the country is finalising its updated National Energy and Climate Plan to 2030 towards reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. This updated plan increases earlier targets for emissions reductions outside the European Union’s Emissions Trading System to 20% compared to 2005 among other measures. However, the Agency argues that the country’s energy and climate targets for 2030 lack ambition and the country has not set a national target for economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions reductions to 2050 or sector targets. Furthermore, carbon taxation and fossil fuel prices are not aligned with driving consumer behaviour in support of the energy transition, the IEA says. Fiscal and tax policy should encourage consumers to move away from fossil fuels and support the uptake of low-emission options with taxation ideally reflecting the carbon content of fuels. The IEA also makes a series of key recommendations. They include several that are relevant to future nuclear power development as part of an overarching low-carbon strategy. For example, the IEA states that the government should advance the climate law to enshrine the net zero emissions by 2050 target in law and mandate the preparation of sectoral climate plans, including energy production and hard-to-abate sectors. It should also streamline and shorten the planning consent regime so that the investments in clean energy technologies, electricity networks and energy infrastructure needed for the energy transition are delivered in a timely manner. The government should ensure that a sufficiently sized and skilled workforce is available to meet the needs of the energy transition and specifically establish a national programme of education and training for future nuclear workforce development. A dedicated, predictable and transparent energy R&D strategy should also be developed, with explicitly defined goals and targets to enable fair competition among research institutions, including the robust and transparent allocation of funding. Measures to increase financing for innovations in energy, assessing new technologies, and making more targeted use of the EU Green Deal and its funding mechanisms should also be adopted.
Overall, the IEA report concludes that the Slovak Republic is making significant steps towards its goal of climate neutrality by 2050, which is reinforced by the preparation of the draft national act on climate change. The Slovak Republic must now consider how it will reach these ambitious goals while providing secure and affordable energy by fully leveraging the reliability of its low-emissions power system to decarbonise domestic energy-intensive industries.
