Italy Nuclear Energy Industry
On March 3, 2025, Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a draft law calling for the Italian government to adopt a series of legislative decrees to create the legal framework for the reintroduction of nuclear power, which was shut down following a 1987 referendum. The decrees increase prospects for a wide range of U.S. nuclear energy products, services and technologies. This includes new plant construction (both small modular reactors and larger plants), facilities and community safety, fuel production, handling and storage, waste management, decommissioning, and professional services.
According to the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s demand for electricity will almost double by 2050 to 583 Terawatt hours (Twh) and “such a boost cannot simply be met with an increase in renewable energy capacity.” Italy’s National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), published on July 3, 2024, calls for Italy to develop a nuclear energy program that could meet between 11% and 22% of domestic energy demand by 2050.
The bill gives the government 24 months to pass a comprehensive framework of laws, reforms, and regulations that would allow Italy to develop nuclear energy and related businesses. Italy plans to invest in new third and fourth generation reactors, including both small modular reactors (SMRs) and larger power plants. The bill also foresees new investments in research and development, training, fusion research, fuel production, materials handling, and innovations in safety. Additionally, it includes measures concerning the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear waste and facilities. The bill also provides for the establishment of a Nuclear Safety Authority, which will oversee and authorize the implementation processes of nuclear facilities.
In October 2024, Minister Fratin said that Italy was in talks with several foreign and Italian companies as potential partners (including Enel, Ansaldo and Leonardo) for a state-backed company that will build advanced nuclear reactors in the country.
Rapid data center growth is also driving the push for nuclear energy.
Italy hosts around 12% of Europe’s 1,300 data centers, but is enjoying a double-digit growth rate, much higher than in the Northern European countries that pioneered data center installations in Europe. Over 160 data centers are already in operation and 23 companies have recently announced the development of 83 new data centers in Italy, with potential investments up to 15 billion of Euros. Data centers are “energy-intensive”, both in terms of data processing and server cooling, as servers processing a high amount of data per second heat up easily. Energy demand from data centers is expected to double between 2024 and 2028 (1,000 – 1,200 MW). The Italian grid will struggle to keep pace with this fast-increasing demand for resilient, sustainable and green power and a network upgrade will be necessary. Abroad, some data centers are powered by nuclear energy; Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) could be a solution for Italy, but not until the early 2030s and after any regulatory hurdles have been overcome.
Local industry contacts, as well as U.S. sector firms, have indicated to Post that nuclear energy is a potential growth market in Italy. U.S. companies interested in the Italian nuclear energy market and seeking representation and information on how the U.S. Commercial Service can assist U.S. companies should reach out to: Joshua.Lawrence@trade.gov and Federico.Bevini@trade.gov .