Belgium - World Nuclear Performance Report
Belgium has two nuclear power plants: Doel, a four-unit plant located 15 km northwest of Antwerp; and Tihange, a three unit plant located about 25 km west-southwest of Liège.
Four units (Doel 2&4 and Tihange 1&3) remain in operation. A decision was made in March 2022 to extend the operation of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 to 2035, delaying the country’s earlier nuclear phase-out plans by a decade. The final agreement between the Belgian government and French utility Engie was signed in December 2023 but the European Commission (EC) in July 2024 opened an investigation into whether the support for lifetime extension was in line with its rules on state aid. In February 2025 the EC approved the plan. The deal, which was closed in March 2025, results in equal ownership of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 by the Belgian state and Engie as well as the transfer of future nuclear waste liabilities to the Belgian state.
Engie said that preparatory works for the 10-year extension of the two reactors “are in full progress” and the units are expected to restart in late 2025.
In May 2025 Belgium’s parliament voted by a large majority to repeal the 2003 law for the phase-out of nuclear power. Under that policy, Doel 3 was closed in September 2022 and Tihange 2 at the end of January 2023. Doel 1 was originally set to shut down in 2015. However, the law was amended in 2013 and 2015 to allow Doel 1 to remain operational until February 2025. Unit 1 of the Tihange plant is set to shut down in October 2025 with Doel 2 following in December.
Nuclear electricity production by age of reactor
