european economics at the World Nuclear Symposium 2026

The european economics team attended the World Nuclear Symposium 2026 (WNS 2026), held at the Hilton London Metropole, London, from 9 to 11 September 2026. Organised by the World Nuclear Association, this 51st edition marked the Association’s 25th anniversary and brought together utility leaders, constructors, regulators, investors and financial institutions under the theme “From Ambition to Action”.

european economics took part as a Platinum sponsor of the Finance Summit. This opening day, on 9 September, was dedicated to the financing of nuclear projects and built on the World Nuclear Investment Guide, launched at the event. It brought together the nuclear and energy transition finance communities around a shared view: nuclear is expected, and the question is no longer whether it can be built, but how to finance its acceleration.

european economics at the World Nuclear Symposium in London from 9 to 11 September 2026

A strong track record in European public funding

Founded in 2009, european economics is an independent consultancy specialising in State aid and European funding for strategic industrial projects across Europe.

257 projects supported since 2009
€46 billion in public funding secured
100% success rate on State aid notifications to the European Commission
211 clients, from fast-growing SMEs to large multinational groups, across all industrial sectors

On IPCEIs alone, european economics has secured €16 billion in funding for 151 projects, across every one of the 14 IPCEIs launched to date and in 13 Member States.

A keynote opening the Finance Summit

Marc ISABELLE, Founder and CEO of european economics, spoke during the opening session of the Finance Summit, The Moment for Nuclear Finance is Now, alongside Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, and Grant Isaac, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cameco.

His keynote, Crossing the Valley of Death with IPCEI: public funding to bring nuclear innovation from R&D to first industrial deployment, made a clear case: nuclear innovation cannot cross the “valley of death” between R&D and first industrial deployment on private capital alone. Public funding acts as a catalyst, not a crutch.

Why public funding? An SMR, an advanced reactor or an innovative fuel takes 10 to 15 years and billions of euros of capex to reach first industrial deployment, with high first-of-a-kind risk, while most of the benefits (decarbonisation, energy security, sovereignty) go to society as a whole. Europe already relies on State aid approved by the Commission for its new build programmes (United Kingdom, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland): four decisions covering around €95 billion of capex, with close to €30 billion in public equity and loans, more than €50 billion in State guarantees and contracts for difference running 35 to 40 years. Marc illustrated this with Poland’s first plant (3 x 1,250 MW, €42 billion): around 30% public equity, a 100% State guarantee on the debt and a two-way contract for difference over 40 years.
A funding stack to coordinate from day one. Marc described public funding as an ecosystem of four complementary layers: European research programmes (Euratom, Horizon Europe), which get the technology started; grants and State aid that close the funding gap, led by IPCEI (up to 100% of the funding gap) and the Innovation Fund (up to 60% of eligible costs, with SMRs eligible), together with CfDs for new build; loans and guarantees from the EIB and InvestEU, which lower the cost of debt and therefore the WACC, with the EIB returning to nuclear and an additional €200 million from InvestEU for the first commercial units of innovative nuclear technologies, announced in March 2026; and finally private capital and revenue frameworks (RAB, PPAs, long-term offtake contracts). These layers reinforce one another, provided they are coordinated from the start of the project.
IPCEI, an instrument built for the “valley of death”. A State aid framework for strategic value chains, an IPCEI brings together at least four Member States around an integrated cross-border project. It covers R&D and first industrial deployment, and allows direct grants of up to 100% of the funding gap, for initiatives worth several billion euros (more than €100 million per company) over 5 to 10 years, reserved for breakthrough innovation.
Proven results in other sectors. Since 2018, 11 IPCEIs have been approved by the Commission across six value chains (microelectronics, batteries, hydrogen, cloud, health), involving 296 companies, 383 projects and 23 Member States. The €37.6 billion of approved State aid has triggered more than €60 billion of private investment: one euro of well-targeted public money attracts around two euros of private capital, and the sector moves from pilot to factory. This is exactly the step now facing SMRs and advanced fuels.
A guide through a complex environment. Marc pointed out that how the case is built (funding gap, innovation case, market analysis) determines the size of the grant: european economics clients secure IPCEI grants that are on average 2.1 times higher per project, with 100% positive decisions from the Commission.

IPCEI Nuclear: where do things stand?

The IPCEI Innovative Nuclear Technologies (IPCEI INT) came out of a working group set up in April 2024 by the Joint European Forum for IPCEI (JEF-IPCEI). It was approved by the 15 participating Member States on 9 April 2025: Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. France coordinates the fission side, Italy the fusion side. This approval opened the design phase of the project, with support from the European Commission’s Design Support Hub.

The initiative is built around three pillars: reactors (SMRs and advanced reactors for electricity, heat, radioisotopes or propulsion), fuels (innovative fuels, fuel cycle, waste management) and the supply chain (materials, components, manufacturing, engineering).

The timeline presented by Marc ISABELLE places the process at the stage of national calls for expressions of interest, open during summer and autumn 2026 (the Finnish call closing on 30 September). National selection of candidates is expected by the end of 2026, followed by European matchmaking in the first quarter of 2027, then notification to the European Commission, with the first grant payments expected around the first quarter of 2028. For investors and lenders, the implication is direct: because the IPCEI grant is decided before financial close, it can and should be built into the financing structure from the outset.

The initiative is part of the Clean Industrial Deal and echoes the Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC), which points to around €241 billion of investment by 2050 to extend existing reactors and build new capacity.

Let’s keep talking

european economics’ presence at the World Nuclear Symposium 2026 confirms its expertise in European public funding and its commitment to the nuclear sector.

You could not meet us in London and would like to discuss public funding opportunities in nuclear or strategic energy technologies?