Welcome & Opening – Official Side Event of the NES

The video is the opening session of a scientific side event organized by Sfen and the European Nuclear Society (ENS) in partnership with CEA, held on March 9, 2026, in Paris, as an official side event of the second Nuclear Energy Summit. Valérie Faudon, Executive Director of Sfen, welcomes participants and introduces the event, highlighting the partnership with ENS and CEA and the venue, Maison de la chimie. Anne-Isabelle Étienvre, Board Member of CEA and Vice-President of Sfen, delivers the keynote speech. She discusses the context of the Nuclear Energy Summit, emphasizing the growing global interest in nuclear energy as a low-carbon and dispatchable source, and the summit’s focus on financing and innovation. She outlines the challenge of tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050, with specific targets for Europe and France. She stresses the importance of R&D infrastructure as a pillar for nuclear revival, including research reactors, critical mockups, experimental loops, hot laboratories, and simulation tools. She highlights the role of these infrastructures in fundamental research, validation of concepts, industrial partnerships, and training. The event aims to address two questions: the state of R&D infrastructure needs and the action plans at national, European, and international levels. The session includes 20 speakers and concludes with IAEA Director General Grossi. Étienvre encourages open and frank discussions and mentions her participation in the summit’s panel on innovation.