Ansaldo Energia and RINA have signed an agreement aimed at supporting development of the Italian nuclear supply chain. The agreement was signed by signed by Ansaldo CEO Fabrizio Fabbri and RINA CEO Carlo Luzzatto. The aim is to position Italian industrial companies for global nuclear market growth. The partnership is tailored primarily for businesses with transferable expertise that are not yet active in the nuclear sector but wish to safely navigate the industry’s strict regulations.
Ansaldo Energia is a leading international player in the power generation industry, providing equipment, services, and turnkey power plants. It manufactures heavy-duty gas turbines, steam turbines, and large-scale generators and is heavily involved in the global green transition through hydrogen-ready technologies and energy storage solutions. Through its specialised subsidiary, Ansaldo Nucleare, the company is a primary engineer for international fusion and fission projects, active in small modular reactor (SMR) development.
RINA is a massive multinational testing, inspection, certification, and engineering consultancy firm. It provides independent, third-party validation to ensure that companies, materials, and infrastructure meet rigorous regulatory, environmental, and safety standards. It was founded in 1861 as the Registro Italiano Navale as one of the world’s first ship classification registries before modernising into a broad “business-to-society” company.
Together, Ansaldo and RINA combine physical manufacturing expertise with regulatory validation. Ansaldo Energia provides real-world market requirements, industrial facilities, and technical guidelines. RINA designs the strict structured certification pathways and handles the legal, quality, and technological safety gap analyses. They enable regular industrial factories (such as steel suppliers or valve manufacturers) to successfully upgrade their operations to meet flawless international standards.
The new initiative is primarily aimed at companies that are not currently active in the nuclear sector but possess transferable industrial capabilities, with the goal of expanding and strengthening the national industrial base.
The agreement was concluded in a context of strong nuclear growth, with nuclear playing an increasingly important role in energy security and decarbonisation. More than 420 reactors are currently in operation worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding 400 GWe with over 60 reactors are under construction. Nuclear power accounts for around 10% of global electricity demand and global investments in the sector are expected to reach $120bn a year by 2030, with installed capacity projected to double by 2050.
“Strengthening the country’s industrial capacity is an essential step to enable Italian companies to seize the opportunities of a rapidly growing nuclear market,” said Ansaldo Energia CEO Fabrizio Fabbri. “We are pleased to launch this initiative together with a leading partner such as RINA, building on other initiatives already undertaken by Ansaldo Energia, such as the recent agreement with SIMEST, aimed at supporting the growth and internationalisation of the supply chain.”
Carlo Luzzatto, CEO and General Manager of RINA said the renewed global momentum behind nuclear energy is creating significant new opportunities for Italy’s industrial sector. “Through this initiative, we aim to support companies on a structured qualification pathway, enabling them to progressively develop the capabilities and meet the requirements needed to operate in an industry defined by the highest regulatory, technological, and safety standards. By combining RINA’s expertise with Ansaldo Energia’s extensive industrial experience, we will help strengthen the competitiveness of Italy’s nuclear supply chain and enhance its ability to capitalize on the opportunities arising from both national and international nuclear programmes.”
Stefano Monti, Chairman of the Italian Nuclear Association expressed full support for the initiative, “which is of fundamental importance to strengthen and coordinate a national nuclear supply chain that can already rely on expertise and industrial capabilities developed also through significant projects abroad”. He added: this represents a strategic asset that must now be further expanded and consolidated, to respond effectively both to the numerous opportunities offered by new international projects and to the demanding nuclear programme that will be launched in our country in the coming months.”
Italy was a leading nuclear power-producing country in the 1960s but chose to phase out all nuclear plants after a 1987 referendum following the Chornobyl disaster. It closed its last two operating plants, Caorso and Trino Vercellese, in 1990. The fourth Berlusconi government attempted to launch a new nuclear power programme but that was also rejected by a referendum in 2011, shortly after the Fukushima accident.
In May 2023, the Italian Parliament approved a motion urging the government to consider incorporating nuclear power into the country’s energy mix. The following September, the first meeting was held of the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Power, set up by the government to define a time frame for the possible resumption of nuclear energy and identify opportunities for the industrial chain already operating in the sector.
In March 2025, the government approved a proposal to draft laws to permit nuclear power generation, focusing on SMRs. The government aims to finalise plans and legislation by the end of 2027, in order to supplement renewable energy sources. In June, Italy’s lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, approved a government bill paving the way for a return to nuclear energy. Italy’s National Integrated Plan for Energy & Climate includes scenarios in which nuclear power provides between 11% and 22% of Italy’s electricity by 2050. The government plans to allocate €20m ($20.7m) a year from 2027 to 2029 for nuclear investments.
