‘Excellent future’ for Swiss nuclear energy: IAEA chief

The operational life of Swiss nuclear plants needs extending, says IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has predicted an "excellent future" for nuclear energy in Switzerland.  

In an interview in Le Temps, Grossi said he could see no immediate end to nuclear energy in the Alpine state. 

+ How green are the Swiss?

Nuclear power plants in Switzerland are immaculate and safety is at the highest level, the Argentinian told the newspaper on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “I therefore think that your country will continue to be one of the operating states in the coming decades.” 

Since the construction of new power plants is prohibited in Switzerland, the country would have to extend the life of its existing reactors if it wanted to continue using this energy. This is “one of the most efficient ways to continue to benefit from nuclear energy,” said Grossi. 

+ Is nuclear energy poised for a comeback in Switzerland?

He took the Beznau nuclear power plant in the canton of Aargau as an example. Its operation started in 1969, as Grossi said. “We are approaching a century life cycle for the oldest nuclear power plants,” he said. 

After years of disinterest – Germany abandoned nuclear energy last year – nuclear energy is now clearly seen as a solution for the future, according to Grossi. France, for example, is considering building eight new power plants by 2050. 

Grossi recalled in the interview that the states that took part in the COP28 climate conference recognised nuclear energy as part of the solution to the climate crisis. In Grossi’s opinion, an energy transition without nuclear power is “absolutely impossible.” 

The Argentine diplomat therefore called for a “return to realism”. He also countered the criticism of nuclear energy, particularly with regard to nuclear waste. “In the 1970s we never had the slightest problem with waste,” he said. “We simply need long-term storage facilities.

How we work

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here. 

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [e-mail].