Dalibor Arbutina, Nuclear facilities of Serbia: Nuclear energy the key to energy security and decarbonization

In Serbia, this topic is further updated through discussions about the future energy mix, the possible construction of nuclear capacities, but also the improvement of existing systems for radioactive waste management and nuclear safety. Dalibor Arbutina, the director of the company Nuclear Objects of Serbia, speaks about these issues, indicating the importance of nuclear energy for energy security, but also on concrete steps that Serbia is already taking in this area.

- During the period when the SFRY was planning the construction of new power plants, suitable locations in the SFRY were investigated. The site evaluation criteria focus on safety, environmental impact and economy, and availability of sources of significant amounts of cooling water, low population density, geological stability, seismic integrity, easy transport solutions and accessibility, connection to the power grid and acceptance by the public. The requirements should meet the balance of the reliability of project solutions in relation to external natural risks and social needs.

- The waste processing plant has successfully completed two phases of trial operation, without and with radioactive material, with training and supervision of international experts. After that, a request was submitted to the regulatory body to obtain a license for the use of the facility and regular operation and now we are waiting for the license or possible requests to complete the documentation. The company also submitted a request to obtain a license for the decommissioning of the old hangars H1 and H2, whose waste should be processed in the new plant. It is about the processing of waste that is mainly generated in the research institute, during the period of active nuclear research and the active operation of two research nuclear reactors. Funds for this multi-year project will be provided based on the conclusion reached by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

- The laboratory is equipped with a large number of specific and very expensive equipment which can be used to determine, among other things, the isotopic composition of the material, and nuclear materials in particular. In case of illegal traffic of such material, the origin of that material can be determined based on the measurement results and corresponding data in the IAEA databases.

- Since its foundation, the company has collaborated with faculties in the Republic of Serbia to conduct specific classes related to our field of activity, because it has personnel capacity to manage operational nuclear facilities, as well as facilities and equipment for the implementation of the theoretical and experimental part of the teaching.

- At the just concluded Nuclear Summit 2026, in Paris organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the French government, world leaders have formulated as one of the conclusions that "nuclear energy is the key to aligning independence, and therefore energy sovereignty with decarbonization and thus neutrality in relation to carbon emissions". There are increasing needs for the use of artificial intelligence, which is considered to be the main driver of the increase in energy needs, with a projected four-fold increase by 2030. At the moment, no other energy source is commercially conceivable that would meet these needs within this time frame. Only various new types of reactors are considered, all other options are still in the realm of theory and experiment.