Preface for the special issue “NFT-05: Italy and Greece”: nuclear fission technology in Italy

After the successful experience in the ‘60s and ‘70s, a bright future for nuclear energy suddenly became opaque after the Chernobyl accident; however, nuclear energy still can hold its promises. Noticeably, some research continued after that event, and valuable expertise has persisted in industry, research centers, and universities. The commitment to research on the safety aspects of current reactor generations and advanced reactors using passive safety systems should be underlined. Even though Large Reactor Units (LRUs) have demonstrated the capability to benefit a country like Italy, Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology might have a role in fulfilling the zero carbon target. In fact, in the short term, light water SMR designs appear to be a target of the strategy for the Italian government to fulfil the zero-carbon target. Notably, there is also interest in the future deployment of Gen-4 reactors, particularly lead-cooled fast reactors, considering the expertise in the country. Greek scientists did not participate in the activities of the present VSI. Therefore, the discussion below deals with Italy only.