On Monday, the Belgian government and Engie announced the signing of a ten-year extension agreement, starting in November 2026, for two of the seven nuclear reactors operated by the French group in Belgium, AFP reported.

The two sides have been negotiating intensively for months over the terms of this extension, which Belgium decided in March 2022 to guarantee energy supplies beyond 2025 amid uncertainty surrounding the war in Ukraine.

The Belgian state and the energy company had already agreed to create a 50/50 joint venture to operate the two expanded reactors in a previous deal announced in July.

Now the state’s commitment to the principle of cost containment of waste management – as required by the operator – means that it is possible to move to the next stage and “immediately start” preliminary studies for the expansion of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 near Antwerp (North) and Liège (East) respectively .

This includes technical and environmental studies before receiving the green light from the Belgian nuclear regulatory authority.

“Work on the expansion of the last two reactors can begin tomorrow,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo said at a press conference, hailing “a big step forward.”

“With this agreement, both parties confirm their intention to make every effort to restart the nuclear units at Doel 4 and Tihange 3 in November 2026,” the office and Engie said in a statement.

On March 18, the Belgian government announced a decision to postpone by ten years the complete transition from nuclear energy, originally planned for 2025.

Seven reactors are scheduled to shut down in stages starting in late 2022 and ending in 2025, with one already shut down at the end of September.

Photo: Dreamtime