Italy, relatively poor in conventional energy raw materials, has historically paid great attention to renewable sources, energy efficiency and energy saving as tools to reduce the dependence and mitigate the environmental and climatic effects of the energy cycle.

Recent technological progress in renewable sources, means of transport, accumulation systems, energy efficiency and communication technology offers a renewed opportunity to resolve the conflict between competitive prices of energy and support for decarbonization.

Under these conditions, Italy´s energy policy was recently updated by the Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) and the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), now merged into the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MiTE, see Section 3.1.1.3) with regard to energy, environment and climate change competences. After public consultations, which started on 12 June 2017, a ministerial decree was issued on 10 November 2017 for the adoption of the National Energy Strategy (NES) for 2030, available on the MiTE website [1].

The key themes leading to the Government proposal for a new NES included:

• the country´s increasing competitiveness due to the alignment of Italy´s energy prices with the European ones,

• improvements in the security of supply and provision,

• the decarbonization of the energy system, in line with the long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement.

These three objectives are in line with the Clean Energy Package of the European Union (EU), presented in November 2016 by the European Commission (EC). The NES outlines an important milestone and a framework for defining a solid foundation for an integrated national plan on energy and climate, as foreseen by the EU Clean Energy Package. In line with the results of the 2011 referendum, the NES does not include nuclear energy production, and the closed NPPs (about 1400´MW) are in the process of decommissioning by the State-owned company Societ´ Gestione Impianti Nucleari (SOGIN).

With regard to the first objective, aimed at enhancing Italy´s competitiveness, actions are oriented to narrow cost and price differentials to benefit consumers, to finalize the liberalization processes and to rely on instruments that protect the competitiveness of energy intensive industrial sectors, while preventing the risks of delocalization and safeguarding employment. In particular, price targets aim to narrow the significant gap between the cost of natural gas for household consumers in Italy compared to the EU average: ~´ 22/MW´h in the second half of 2021⁽¹⁾. The gap is close to zero with regard to the cost of electricity, given that it is in line with that of the EU average, or rather it is slightly lower for electricity prices (including taxes) for household consumers in Italy compared to the EU average: ~´ 0.9/MW´h in the second half of 2021⁽²⁾.

With regard to the second objective on sustainable growth, the NES sets out objectives and measures to achieve sustainable growth and environmental targets, contributing, in particular, to a low carbon economy and to the fight against climate change. Renewable resources and energy efficiency will contribute not only to environmental protection, but also to energy security (by reducing the dependence of the energy system) and economic competitiveness, through cost effective pricing of energy. The strategic actions to achieve this objective include the following:

• Further promotion of renewable resources, with a target of 55% for the final electricity consumption;

• Support of energy efficiency projects that maximize sustainability, keep system charges low by curbing yearly energy consumption from 2021 to 2030 (10´Mtoe/year by 2030) and achieve the CO₂ emission reduction targets for the non-emissions trading system, with a particular focus on the residential and transport sectors;

• Step up in decarbonization of the energy system by accelerating the decommissioning of coal fired thermal power plants by 2025;

• Increase in public resources for R&D of clean energy technologies by doubling investments: from ´222 million in 2013 to ´444 million in 2021.

With regard to the third objective on energy security, the steady improvement of the security and capacity of energy systems, as well as the flexibility of gas networks and power grids, will be implemented through the following steps:

• Integration of a growing amount of renewable resources (including distributed ones) and new players, by strengthening and fostering the evolution of networks, grids and markets towards smart, flexible and resilient configurations;

• Diversification and greater integration into European markets of gas supply sources to prevent political instability in exporting countries. Gas will play an essential role in the energy transition, for electricity generation, services and other uses, including the use of liquid natural gas in heavy and maritime transport.

In line with the requirements of the EU Regulation on the governance of the energy union and climate action 2018/1999, on 31 December 2019 Italy submitted to the EC the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which offers guidance on the future evolution of Italy´s energy sector [2]. An online public consultation has been carried out on the measures proposed in the NECP draft, and its final version briefly describes how the feedback received has been taken into account. The NECP establishes the national targets for 2030 for energy efficiency, renewable sources and the reduction of CO₂ emissions, as well as the targets for energy security, interconnections, the single energy market and competitiveness, sustainable development and mobility, outlining for each of them the measures that will be implemented to ensure their achievement.

The NECP sets a target of reducing non-ETS greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Italy aims to exceed this target, with planned measures expected to reduce Italian greenhouse gas emissions in the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) sectors by 35% in 2030 compared to 2005.

Italy aims to contribute 30% (as a share of gross final consumption) to the 2030 European Union renewable energy target. This contribution is expected to have the following distribution between the sectors:

• 55% share of renewable energy in the electricity sector;

• 33.9% share of renewable energy in the heating sector (for heating and cooling);

• 22% from the incorporation of renewable energy in the transport sector.

With regard to energy efficiency, Italy´s contribution to the collective 2030 European Union target amounts to 125.1´Mtoe for primary energy and 103.8´Mtoe for final energy consumption. Italy intends to pursue an indicative target for 2030 of 43% for primary energy consumption and of 39.7% for final energy consumption, compared to the PRIMES 2007 scenario.

In terms of security of supply, Italy intends to become less dependent on import by increasing renewable energy sources and energy efficiency and diversifying supply sources. The level of dependency on imports is expected to decrease from 77.7% in 2016 to 75.4% in 2030, and to 74.6% in 2040.

On the internal energy market, the final plan includes objectives, policies and measures. These aim at the elimination of price distortions or the non-discriminatory participation of new market participants in the deployment of the second generation of smart metering systems and the phasing-out of regulated prices.

On electricity interconnectivity, Italy aims to increase its interconnectivity level to 10% by 2030. A greater degree of market integration is believed to be an advantage for the whole EU, and therefore electricity interconnections and market coupling with other Member States will be strengthened, but interconnections with third countries (countries outside the EU) will also be studied and developed, given Italy´s geographical position, with the aim of promoting efficient exchanges.

In terms of national objectives and funding targets for research and innovation (R&I) and competitiveness, the final NECP confirms the objective to double the public funds for research into clean energy, from around ´222 million in 2013 to approximately ´444 million in 2021. The overall R&I target is 1.53% of GDP by 2020.

For a socially just and fair energy transition, the NECP provides a good analysis of the expected socioeconomic impact, focusing on the phase-out of coal and possible impacts on occupation and skills. Italy estimates that implementing NECP will create approximately 117´000 additional jobs per year during 2017´2030. On energy poverty, Italy reports the number of households affected and lists several existing and future measures to reduce energy poverty.

To achieve the security and flexibility objectives, the intention is to explore the potential offered by growing integration of the electricity and gas network infrastructure. In this context, it is important to explore the costs and benefits of power to gas technological solutions which, especially over the long term, make it possible to absorb any imbalances between electricity production using renewable energy and energy demand, especially with high levels of photovoltaic penetration..

Italy is heavily dependent on imported energy supplies. In 2020, the share of imported energy was 73.5%⁽³⁾. Renewable energy sources are expected to play a key role in future strategy; the share of energy from renewable energy sources amounted to 20.4%⁽⁴⁾ of the total final energy consumption and 38.1%⁽⁵⁾ of the electricity consumption in 2020.

In the last decade, Italy has become one of the world´s largest producers of renewable energy, ranking as the fourth largest producer (installed capacity) in the EU after Germany, Spain and France and the tenth in the world in 2021⁽⁶⁾, as well as the world´s sixth largest producer⁽⁷⁾ of energy from solar power in 2020 and 2021.

TABLE 1. ENERGY STATISTICS

*Latest available data, please note that compound annual growth rate may not be representative of actual average growth.

**Total energy derived from primary and secondary generation sources. Figures do not reflect potential heat output that may result from electricity co-generation.

´: data not available.

Source(s): Full report ´ Statistical Review of World Energy 2021 ´ BP. https://www.bp.com ´ dam ´ pdfs ´ energy-economics;

IEA https://www.iea.org/countries/italy, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/energy/data/database

In 1962, Italy´s electricity sector was nationalized by Act No. 1643 of 6 December 1962. Ente Nazionale per l´Energia Elettrica (ENEL), the electricity generation board of Italy, was established and placed fully in charge of electricity production and transmission, and partially in charge of the distribution of electricity.

Over the following three decades, the electricity system ´´ in terms of production, transmission and distribution ´´ was organized to support the following model: (i) a large, nationwide company (ENEL); (ii) a number of municipal utilities, namely in the large cities such as Rome, Milan and Turin; and (iii) a large number of industrial automobile electricity producers.

Starting from the early 1990s, many changes took place in Italy´s electricity sector. By Decree No. 333 of 11 July 1992, the Government privatized some State-owned industrial and commercial companies. In August 1992, ENEL became a joint stock company with its shares in the hands of the Ministry of Treasury. In November 1995, the law setting up the Independent Regulatory Authority was approved, and the Authority has been operational since 1997. In December 1995, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Crafts (hereafter referred to as the Ministry of Industry) issued the new concession to ENEL.

In March 1999, a legislative decree (the Bersani Decree) was issued to restructure and liberalize Italy´s electricity sector. The purpose of the decree was both to sufficiently liberalize the sector and to guarantee such general economic interests as, for instance, a universal service, tariff equalization and the development of renewable sources.

According to the Bersani Decree, ENEL underwent a complete reorganization. ENEL is now a joint stock company, the largest share of which is owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF, former Ministry of Treasury), with its 23.6%.

The main responsibility for general energy policy lies with MiTE (see Section 3.1.1.3); this ministry was established in 2021 and has encompassed the competences of MiSE in the field of energy and the whole MATTM, responsible for coordinating climate change policies. Therefore, MiTE is now also responsible for the promotion and development of renewable energy and for energy efficiency.

The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF) deals with the development and coordination of policy guidelines in the fields of agriculture and forestry at the national, European and international levels. Therefore, it plays a significant role in the bioenergy sector.

The Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA) has a number of responsibilities regarding renewable energy, such as ensuring fair grid access conditions or allocating support to face renewable energy costs to different consumer groups.

The Gestore Servizi Energetici (GSE) promotes the development of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, manages payments of economic incentives and forecasts and aggregates the production of renewable energy power plants. This also includes the sale of renewable power in the electricity market and analytic support to policy makers. GSE is organized as a private company with its sole shareholder as the MEF, which exercises its shareholder rights together with MiTE (the ministry that is responsible for operational guidelines).

The National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) is a public body supervised by MiTE in cooperation with other ministries. Its activities are targeted to research, technological innovation and the provision of advanced services in the energy and sustainable economic development sector. ENEA´s main research topics are related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear energy, climate and environment, safety and health, and new technologies.

The Terna group is the owner of the Italian national transmission grid for high and extra high voltage power and is the largest independent electricity transmission system operator (TSO) in Europe. Similar to GSE, Terna was established as a result of the liberalization of the electricity market in 1999.

The responsibility for energy policy is shared between the Government and regions. Legislative Decree No. 112 of 1998 made the regions responsible for the administrative duties relating to energy, including renewable energy sources, electricity, oil and gas, which were not reserved to the State or assigned to local authorities. Under Constitutional Act No. 3 of 2001, the State has legislative power within the renewable energy sector, while the regions maintain administrative power.

A summary diagram of the electricity system in Italy is shown in Fig. 1.

FIG. 1. The electricity system in Italy.

Italy has fully unbundled transmission and generation ownership. Slow growth in net demand´as a result of a combination of low economic activity, energy efficiency programmes and an increase in renewable capacity´has also contributed to a relative surplus of generation. In spite of that, Italy continues to import significant quantities of low-priced energy from abroad.

Although natural gas is the largest single source of electricity generation in Italy, its relative share has declined in recent years in favour of increased solar and wind power generation. In fact, since 2013, the total production from thermoelectric plants (natural gas, coal and oil) has declined, with natural gas and coal production falling significantly. Production from renewable energy, on the other hand, has increased, although at a slower pace than in previous years.

The role of natural gas generation in Italy´s power mix has changed over time as the amount of solar photovoltaic and wind power in the system has increased, which has in turn changed the shape of demand in certain parts of the country by reducing peak load on sunny days.

ENEL is by far the largest electricity producer in Italy (15.8% of total national production in 2020). The next five companies are ENI (8%), Edison (7%), A2A (6%), EPH (5.3%) and Iren (3.6%)⁽⁸⁾.

Italy has very low levels of renewable energy curtailment, though this could change if the increase in variable renewable energy outpaces developments in the transmission and distribution system. In recent years, Italy has made changes to dispatch operations intended to increase system efficiency, including the introduction of a mechanism to better measure and more generally enhance the performance of frequency regulation.

In order to maintain sufficient system adequacy, MiSE was instructed via the 2014 Budget Law to introduce a capacity system intended to remunerate flexible generation. A ministerial decree, dated 30 June 2014, further outlined the new capacity mechanism requirements; system adequacy will be measured, taking into account (i) grid and cross-border interconnection capacity; (ii) active demand side management; and (iii) the contribution of distributed generation.

Terna, Italy´s TSO, has the primary operational responsibility for electricity emergency response. The electricity distribution networks also have an important role in planning electricity emergency response.

Distribution system operators (DSOs) are required to support the TSO in the event of a network crisis. The growing share of intermittent renewable energy in the electricity supply requires real time information sharing, robust communication and coordination of real time power system management between the TSO and DSOs. Arguably, Italy is moving towards an electricity system in which nodes in the distribution networks will progressively move from passive to active players. This means that DSOs need to become increasingly capable of exchanging signals with distributed loads and generators as well as with Terna, in order to maintain voltage and current standards, adequate performance in case of relevant incidents and, in general, the security of Italy´s power system.

Italy´s Grid Code defines procedures for the management of emergencies, according to their nature and extent, as well as the amount of resources available to Terna and other responsible entities.

Over the years, operational procedures for emergency operation enclosed in multilateral procedures have been developed with all neighbouring countries. In particular, bilateral agreements have been signed with all neighbours for mutual emergency assistance service to supply real time service in case of any emergency operation. Written agreements that take into consideration emergency procedures have been reached with all adjacent TSOs: the Austrian Power Grid (Austria), ELES (Slovenia), HTSO/DESMIE (Greece), RTE (France), and Swissgrid (Switzerland).

Italy´s total gross output capacity of electricity generating plants in 2020 amounted to 119.1´GW⁽⁹⁾; the list of different energy sources is given in Table 2 and ratios in Table 3. The total gross electricity production in 2020 was 280.53´TW´h⁽¹⁰⁾, including about 43.7´TW´h from wind and photovoltaic sources. High voltage transmission lines, connecting power plants with the distribution system, are mainly based on 380´kV and 220´kV lines.

TABLE 2. ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION

Latest available data´: data not available.

Source: IAEA-RDS-1 and IAEA-RDS-2, TERNA, Impianti di generazione 2020, TERNA, Produzione 2020, TERNA, Consumi 2020

TABLE 3. ENERGY RELATED RATIOS

Source: https://download.terna.it/terna/8-DATI%20STORICI_8d9cec94296a9db.pdf 

Italy has been one of the first countries to use nuclear technology for civil power generation. Italy´s history of nuclear technology development can be split into three major periods:

1. Pioneering period, from 1946 to 1965, during which private industry played a fundamental role;

2. Planning period, from 1966 to 1987, during which the Government planned nuclear development;

3. Post-referenda period, from 1988 onwards, which is characterized by the efforts to abandon nuclear energy production.

2.1.1.1. Pioneering period

2.1.1.2. Planning period

2.1.1.3. Post-referenda (disengagement) period

In the context of privatization and liberalization of the electric energy market, and in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 79 of 16 March 1999, all of ENEL´s liabilities and assets (and all capabilities and resources) related to nuclear power were assigned to the newly established company SOGIN, which has been operational since 1 November 1999. In 2000, its shares were transferred to the Ministry of Treasury (now MEF); however, SOGIN acts according to the guidelines issued by MiTE.

Act No. 40 of 8 May 2019 implemented the ´Ratification and execution of the Settlement Agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the European Atomic Energy Community on the governing principles of radioactive waste management responsibilities of the site of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of Ispra (in northwest Italy), made in Brussels on 27 November 2009´. Consequently, in September 2019, the JRC and SOGIN signed an agreement for the definitive transfer to SOGIN of the Ispra-1 reactor, located inside the JRC located in Ispra. With this agreement, the Italian state company assumed responsibility for the dismantling of the research reactor Ispra-1.

The mission of SOGIN covers the following:

• The decommissioning of NPPs in Italy;

• The decommissioning of fuel cycle plants, which are the property of ENEA and Fabbricazioni Nucleari, but whose licences have been transferred to SOGIN;

• The decommissioning of the JRC Ispra-1 reactor;

• Siting, constructing and operating the National Repository and Technology Park;

• The management, up to disposal, of radioactive waste resulting from past operation and dismantling activities;

• The management of spent fuel and nuclear materials.

Authorizations are granted by MiTE, on the basis of the technical advice of ISIN, the national nuclear authority. ISIN is a technical body governed by public law with operational and administrative autonomy. It is responsible for the regulation and supervision (by inspection) of nuclear installations in matters of nuclear safety and radiation protection.

MiTE is the authority responsible for determining the environmental compatibility of nuclear projects, including the decommissioning of nuclear power stations and other reactors.

Table 5 presents the status and performance of NPPs in Italy, and Fig. 2 shows the locations of NPPs and other nuclear facilities.

TABLE 5. STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Note: BWR ´ boiling water reactor; const. ´ construction; GCR ´ gas cooled reactor; HWLWR ´ heavy water moderated, boiling light water cooled reactor; PWR ´ pressurized water reactor; UCF ´ unit capability factor.

FIG 2. Location of NPPs and other nuclear facilities.

Not applicable. Please refer to Section 2.1.1.

In 1987, a referendum was held on the use of nuclear energy. The results of the referendum were interpreted as a desire to abandon the use of nuclear energy for electricity production. After a five-year moratorium, the decision to definitively shut down all of Italy´s NPPs was taken. Table 5 shows the status of the decommissioning of NPPs in Italy.

TABLE 6. STATUS OF DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

2.2.3.1. Caorso

2.2.3.2. Trino

2.2.3.3. Garigliano

2.2.3.4. Latina

In Italy, there are no facilities for enriching uranium. Several installations have the capability to manufacture fuel elements; however, all of them are closed.

Fuel fabrication plants and research facilities are no longer in operation and, at present, they are under decommissioning by SOGIN.

Fabbricazioni Nucleari fuel fabrication plant (Bosco Marengo) achieved the completion of Decommissioning Plan - Phase I at the end of 2021.

The situation is summarized in table below.

FUEL FABRICATION AND RESEARCH FACILITIES

The licences of these facilities, except for Ispra-1, were transferred to SOGIN in 2003. Decommissioning of these facilities is primarily driven by residual nuclear materials and waste management considerations, due to preliminary treatment activities, and mainly aims for decontamination, dismantlement and on-site storage of conditioned radioactive waste, in view of disposal to the future National Repository.

Following Euratom´s decision to decommission obsolete nuclear installations, an agreement was signed on 27 November 2009 between the Italian Government and Euratom, whereby the Ispra-1 reactor was brought back under Italian management for decommissioning.

During 2018, the Italian Government, with Act No. 205/2017, formally transferred to SOGIN the responsibility for the decommissioning of the Ispra-1 reactor and the ownership of the related authorization acts. SOGIN then started the cognitive activities for the definition of the different aspects inherent to the transfer of the plant, and on 26 September 2019 the deed of takeover was signed by SOGIN and JRC Ispra that finalized the transfer. During April 2020 the Global Decommissioning Project has been formally presented to the Italian Authorities, and plant and systems characterization activities started, in order to confirm and complete the available data.

The spent fuel from historical nuclear power generation was reprocessed, starting in the early years of operation of Italy´s NPPs. In the mid-1990s, ENEL decided to terminate nuclear fuel reprocessing based on economic and technical evaluation and to proceed with interim dry storage of the remaining spent fuel for the light water-cooled reactors. The fuel related to contracts already issued was sent to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL, now Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, NDA) for reprocessing, with the last spent fuel transport to the Sellafield reprocessing plant performed in 2005. From mid-1990 to December 2004, the strategy was to store fuel elements in dual purpose (transport and storage) metallic casks in interim storage spaces on nuclear sites with the objective of moving them to the National Repository for radioactive waste once it started operation. The storage would be continued there, waiting for final (geological) disposal.

During December 2004, the MAP allowed SOGIN to evaluate alternative strategies, in particular to evaluate reprocessing of the spent fuel abroad.

During March 2006, the MAP changed the national strategy for the spent fuel still stored in Italy from dry storage to reprocessing, except for the strategy regarding Elk River spent fuel, which remained unchanged.

As a consequence of the change of strategy, during November 2006 the governments of Italy and France signed an intergovernmental agreement related to the stipulation of a contract between SOGIN and ORANO (formerly AREVA) for the transport and the reprocessing in France of the spent fuel stored in Italy, except for the Elk River spent fuel. The contract was signed by SOGIN and ORANO in April 2007.

The following activities have been performed in compliance with the intergovernmental agreement and the contract:

• Delivery in France of all the spent fuel stored at Caorso and Trino NPPs;

• Partial delivery of the spent fuel stored at the Deposito Avogadro facility.

During March 2006, in order to manage the Superph´nix spent fuel quota that arose from ENEL participation in the NERSA consortium, MiTE allowed SOGIN to consider the reprocessing of the SOGIN spent fuel quota.

During November 2007, the governments of Italy and France signed an intergovernmental agreement that let SOGIN and EDF sign, during April 2008, an operating protocol for the restitution of the plutonium made available by NERSA to SOGIN in relation to the reprocessing of the SOGIN spent fuel. The same day SOGIN and ORANO (formerly AREVA) signed a contract for the management of the aforementioned plutonium: the title of property of the plutonium was subsequently transferred by this contract to ORANO.

STORAGE OF SPENT FUEL ASSEMBLIES

* Spent fuel covered by SOGIN ´ ORANO reprocessing contract (pre irradiation tHM, contractual weight) and Elk River spent fuel (post irradiation tHM)

The sources of radioactive waste in Italy include the power plants formerly operated by ENEL, the fuel cycle plants operated by Fabbricazioni Nucleari, research laboratories and experimental facilities, and non-energy applications (e.g., medical, industrial and other uses).

Criteria applicable to the classification of radioactive waste are set forth in the Ministerial Decree of 7 August 2015.The criteria applied to the radioactive waste management (in particular to the treatment, conditioning and disposal of radioactive waste) are currently defined in the Technical Guide n. 26, published during May 1987 by the former Nuclear Safety Authority ENEA / DISP.

In the short term, the Technical Guide n. 26 will be replaced by the Technical Guides n. 32 "Safety and radiation protection criteria for engineering plants for the superficial disposal of radioactive waste" and n. 33 "Safety criteria for the management of radioactive waste" already issued in draft by the ISIN and subject to public consultation by March 2022. In particular, these new rules allow near-surface disposal of conditioned VLLW and LLW and prescribe suitable long-term storage for ILW and HLW pending the availability of a geological repository for their disposal. Solid waste is treated (e.g. supercompaction, fusion, incineration) and suitably conditioned with mortar in cylindrical or prismatic steel containers. Liquid waste is homogeneously grouted with mortar in cylindrical containers. Before disposal, the resulting packages are suitable for above ground storage.

Part of the radioactive waste in Italy was produced during the operation of the nuclear installations connected to the national nuclear power programme. Another significant amount of waste will result from decommissioning activities, as well as from the return of ILW and HLW from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel abroad.

In addition, some radioactive waste requiring management is annually produced by institutional activities like R&D, medical and industrial uses.

At present, almost all the waste generated by the operation of nuclear installations is stored on the same site where it was produced.

During February 2008, the Minister of Economic Development appointed a committee with representatives from ministries, regions, the former Nuclear Safety Authority ISPRA (now ISIN) and ENEA with a mandate to define the procedures for identifying suitable areas and for selecting a national site for hosting a National Repository for radioactive waste. This committee issued a report during September 2008.

More recently, Legislative Decree No. 31 of 2010 establishes the new procedure for the localization and construction of the National Repository for VLLW and LLW disposal and long-term storage of ILW and HLW. The decree assigns SOGIN responsibility for the construction and operation of the repository as well as for selecting and proposing suitable areas for its localization, based upon criteria established by the IAEA and the Nuclear Safety Authority.

The steps to be taken in order to realize a National Repository are described below, together with the time frames to perform them.

After the publication of the SOGIN proposal of a National Map of Potentially Suitable Areas (CNAPI) and the preliminary design of the repository, a period for public consultation was foreseen followed by a national workshop organized by SOGIN and carried out in the last quarter of 2021, which involved the national Government and local administrations of the potentially suitable areas.

The results of the consultations and the workshop were integrated into the proposal of a National Map of Suitable Sites (CNAI), sent by SOGIN during March 2022 and yet to be approved by the competent authorities.

Once the CNAI will be approved by the competent authorities, within 60 days SOGIN will invite the regions involved to express their interest to host the repository. Once at least one region shows interest, SOGIN will investigate the site extensively and, within 15 months, it will submit a siting proposal to the Minister of Ecological Transition. A one step licence is envisaged (i.e. the authorization is given for construction and operation).

In the event that no region expresses interest, SOGIN will foster bilateral negotiations with the regions hosting suitable areas to find at least one candidate and submit to the Minister of Ecological Transition the list of candidate regions. If no agreement is reached with one of these regions, within 30 days an inter-institutional committee will be set up, with the participation of representatives from different ministries and regions, having the task of reaching an agreement with one of the interested regions. In case no agreement is reached within 60 days, a Decree of the President of the Republic will force the achievement of an agreement with one of the interested regions.

While waiting for a National Repository site to become available, the radioactive waste will continue to be stored in the nuclear installations of origin. Interventions are in progress to enhance the safety level of waste by implementing specific treatment and conditioning projects and by refurbishing existing buildings or utilizing authorized new interim storage facilities on-site, in order to ensure temporary storage capacity for waste resulting from preliminary decommissioning activities.

Nuclear research is conducted by several agencies, institutions and universities. The leading agency for applied nuclear research is ENEA with its Research Centres (CRs) at Casaccia (Lazio), Bologna and Brasimone (Emilia Romagna).

Theoretical research in the nuclear field is performed mainly under the aegis of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), especially in its four main laboratories: Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud and Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso.

In support of nuclear engineering programmes, the universities with degree programmes on the topic are the ´Sapienza´ University of Rome, the University of Pisa, the Polytechnic University of Milan, the Polytechnic University of Turin and the University of Palermo.

Research and study of emerging technologies in the field of decommissioning and waste management is engaged in by ENEA and SOGIN itself, or in cooperation with universities and research centres.

Some research activities, experiments and studies, mainly in connection with the universities and agencies listed in Section 2.8.1, are still conducted at the facilities equipped with research reactors, as shown in table below.

RESEARCH REACTORS

Source: IAEA Research Reactor Database.

Italy supports international cooperation in the nuclear sector based on multilateral partnerships, recognising the critical importance of capacity-building and development, technical and scientific cooperation and technology transfer.

In the framework of Horizon 2020 Euratom Fission Programme, ENEA is involved in about 20 projects covering more or less all the fields of application: decommissioning of nuclear facilities and waste management, fuel cycle and materials in general, safety, education and training.

In the framework of the Euratom Research and Training Programme, SOGIN is involved in collaborative research projects to support research on nuclear safety, waste management and decommissioning, to face challenges aligned with SOGIN´s decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) programme and to obtain mutual benefit by international scientific cooperation.

Since 2015, SOGIN supports the Slovakian state company JAVYS (Jadrov´ a vyradovacia spolocnost) for the dismantling of the V1 plant of the Bohunice nuclear power plant, with two pressurized WWER reactors 440´230.

In the framework of Generation´IV (Gen-IV) nuclear fission, activities performed in Italy are related to the design and technological development of lead cooled fast reactors (LFRs). Presently, the R&D programme is supported by internal or private funds and EU funds (Euratom, H2020). Therefore, readiness of LFR technology has moved forward significantly and is attracting a strong interest worldwide.

Italy also participates in several international cooperation projects developed under the aegis of the EC, OECD/NEA and the IAEA. Two important research centres are JRC Ispra and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, operated with the IAEA.

In the area of nuclear safety and environmental protection, bilateral agreements have been signed with China´s National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), France´s General Directorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (DGSNR), Spain´s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), the United Kingdom Office for Nuclear Regulation and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Some noteworthy activities are in progress in the field of nuclear fusion, with Italian participation in international projects (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), Joint European Torus (JET) and others) and especially with the Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) project, under construction in the ENEA Frascati centre and inserted in the EUROfusion European Research Roadmap to the realisation of fusion energy.

Italy´s regulatory system on nuclear and radiation safety is the result of an evolution of rules and standards that began in the early 1960s, which takes into account the experiences of licensing and operation of different types of NPPs, in addition to other nuclear installations. The system also covers the regulatory framework for the safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The main regulations are acts of Parliament, legislative decrees and governmental or ministerial decrees that are legally binding, but also technical positions and guides issued by ISIN (formerly ISPRA, see below) are to be considered.

3.1.1.1. Nuclear Safety Authority (ISIN - National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection)

3.1.1.2. Prime Minister

3.1.1.3. Ministry of Ecological Transition

3.1.1.4. Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

3.1.1.5. Ministry of Health

3.1.1.6. Ministry of the Interior

3.1.1.7. Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility

3.1.1.8. Ministry of University and Research

3.1.1.9. Ministry of Economy and Finance

3.1.1.10. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

The licensing body is MiTE, based upon the cooperation of other competent ministries and the binding technical advice of ISIN, which is entrusted with the role of acting as the national regulatory authority and performing assessments and inspections of nuclear installations.

Furthermore, Legislative Decree No. 31 of 2010 establishes a new procedure for the localization and construction of a National Repository for VLLW and LLW disposal and long-term storage of ILW and HLW. The decree assigns SOGIN the responsibility for the construction and operation of the repository, as well as for selecting and proposing suitable areas for its localization based upon criteria established by the IAEA and the Nuclear Safety Authority (now ISIN).