
The renewed momentum behind nuclear energy has the potential to usher in a new era of safe and clean power supply as global electricity demand rises strongly, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency, IEA.
The report, The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy, shows the new momentum behind nuclear in the form of new policies, projects, investments and technological advances such as small modular reactors (SMRs). It provides a comprehensive assessment of the current situation, identifying the key challenges that need to be addressed to build on the current momentum and usher in a new era. This includes insights on how to finance new nuclear projects and ensure reliable and diversified supply chains to build and fuel them.
“It is clear today that the strong turn towards nuclear energy that the IEA envisioned a few years ago is well underway, with nuclear set to generate record levels of electricity in 2025,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
Fatih Birol. “In addition, more than 70 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity are being built globally, one of the highest levels in the last 30 years, and more than 40 countries around the world plan to expand the role of nuclear in their energy systems. SMRs in particular offer exciting growth potential. However, governments and industry must overcome some significant hurdles on the path to a new era for nuclear energy, starting with delivering new projects on time and on budget – but also in terms of financing and supply chains.”
Nuclear power, the world's second-largest source of low-emission electricity after hydropower, produces about 10 percent of the global electricity supply today.
The increasing use of electricity to power everything from industry to air conditioning, electric vehicles to data centers amid the rise of artificial intelligence is accelerating growth in power demand, which is expected to grow six times faster than overall energy consumption in the coming decades. Next-generation capacity from a range of technologies will be needed to keep up with the rapid demand growth, including those that can provide robust and flexible output, such as nuclear.
Most of the nuclear power fleet available today is in developed economies, but many of these plants were built decades ago.
Meanwhile, the global map for nuclear is changing, with most of the projects being built in China, which is on track to surpass both the United States and Europe in installed nuclear capacity by 2030. Russia is also a major player in the nuclear technology landscape.
Of the 2017 reactors built worldwide since 52, 25 are Chinese-designed and 23 are Russian-designed. Similarly, the report shows how intensive the production and enrichment of uranium, the fuel that goes into nuclear reactors, is.