17/06/2026
Today at FOREN 2026, Session 8, Bogdan Termegan, Executive Director of ROMATOM, delivered the keynote on nuclear energy in a world shaped by geopolitical tension, technological progress, and rising energy demand. He also joined the panel on technology, economics, and new projects.
ROMATOM thanks CNR-CME for the invitation.
His message was clear: technological progress needs energy, and energy is becoming the natural constraint on national development.
Key points:
→ Data centres alone could grow from ~415 TWh today to ~945 TWh by 2030.
→ Europe has 101 reactors and 98 GW of nuclear capacity, producing around a quarter of the EU’s electricity, yet only three reactors are currently under construction in the EU.
→ The Nuclear Alliance of 16 states calls for up to 150 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050.
For Romania, Mr Termegan called for:
Leadership — a coordinated national nuclear programme covering governance, research, education, financing, supply chain, and project delivery.
Demand planning — a national development plan creating at least 16 GW of net power demand: ~12 GW to reach EU-average consumption, plus 3–4 GW from electrifying heat and transport.
Regional strategy — as Poland replaces around 20 GW of coal capacity and Czechia phases out roughly 7 GW by 2033, Romania needs its own industrial and energy planning.
Romania must not merely host nuclear projects. It must build a national programme that matches its ambition and use nuclear energy to power the industries it wants to develop.