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Nuclear energy under the EU Taxonomy
Nuclear power is Taxonomy-eligible under three dedicated activities covering advanced technologies, new-build projects, and the safe operation and upgrade of existing plants. Inclusion was hard-fought and the resulting conditions are exacting: alignment is less about carbon intensity, which nuclear easily meets, and more about waste, fuel, safety and timing requirements.
Why this activity matters
Nuclear provides a large share of the EU’s low-carbon electricity, and its inclusion in the Taxonomy in 2022 was among the most contested decisions in the framework’s history. The compromise was inclusion with conditions: three separate activities were created, covering pre-commercial advanced technologies (4.26), construction and operation of new plants (4.27, subject to permitting deadlines), and electricity generation from existing installations including lifetime extensions (4.28).
For operators, investors and governments, alignment matters for financing new capacity and lifetime-extension programmes, and for the Taxonomy KPIs of utilities within CSRD scope. In practice, the assessment burden sits in the detailed conditions: the status of a deep geological disposal route for high-level waste, funds and plans for waste management and decommissioning, use of accident-tolerant fuel from the applicable dates, and host-state regulatory requirements. These are documentary questions as much as technical ones.
What alignment requires
The three nuclear activities share a common architecture: a low life-cycle emissions requirement (comfortably met by nuclear generation) plus an extensive set of specific conditions. In summary:
| Area | What is required (summarised) |
|---|---|
| Life-cycle emissions | Generation must demonstrate life-cycle GHG emissions below the 100 gCO2e/kWh threshold, typically evidenced by an ISO-compliant life-cycle assessment; nuclear generation sits well inside this. |
| Waste & decommissioning | Operational plans and dedicated funds for radioactive waste management and decommissioning, and, for high-level waste, documented national commitments to a disposal route including deep geological disposal, with milestone dates. |
| Fuel & safety conditions | Use of accident-tolerant fuel from the dates specified in the Delegated Act, application of the highest safety standards under the Nuclear Safety and Euratom framework, and, for new-build (4.27), construction permits granted within the qualifying window. |
Summarised for orientation; the assessment itself applies the full criteria text of the Delegated Acts as amended.
Where DNSH scrutiny falls
This is the heart of the nuclear DNSH: waste minimisation, interim storage, and the credibility and funding of the long-term disposal pathway.
Thermal discharge and cooling-water abstraction limits, especially for river-cooled sites in warming or water-stressed catchments.
CRVA for long-lived assets, covering flooding, heat and cooling-water availability across the operating life.
Siting, cooling infrastructure and any works assessed against protected-area and EIA requirements.
Documentation that typically supports the assessment
- Life-cycle assessment of generation emissions (ISO 14040/44 or equivalent)
- Waste management programme and decommissioning plan, with evidence of dedicated funds
- National framework documentation on the high-level waste disposal route and milestones
- Licensing and safety-case documentation; permit dates for new-build projects
- Fuel specification and accident-tolerant fuel adoption plans against the applicable deadlines
- CRVA and cooling-water / thermal discharge permits
How Censatim assesses it
Nuclear assessments are condition-led rather than threshold-led: the emissions test is straightforward, so our questioning concentrates on the waste and decommissioning arrangements, the disposal-route commitments, fuel requirements and, for new projects, permit timing, before covering the DNSH areas. Because several conditions reference national frameworks and fixed dates, documentation quality drives the confidence level of the result.
Censatim is an expert-built EU Taxonomy assessment tool: describe the asset or activity in plain language, upload supporting documents, and answer a short set of targeted questions. The result is a criterion-by-criterion view with an In-line / Partial / Not aligned / Undetermined rating and a confidence level for each dimension. See the full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
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