World Nuclear Association welcomes the IEA’s report “The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy”

World Nuclear Association welcomes the IEA’s report “The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy”. 

Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General, World Nuclear Association, said:

"I welcome the IEA’s report “The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy” issued yesterday and congratulate and thank Dr Birol and the authors for their well-researched and considered analysis.    

World Nuclear Association agrees with the IEA that the outlook for the global nuclear industry is very positive.  Indeed, our own analysis is even more optimistic, given the higher levels of ambition that increasing numbers of governments are now showing.    

Our World Nuclear Performance Report 2024 already concluded that nuclear energy “…is now being recognized across an ever-growing number of countries as a reliable answer to the world’s demand for clean, secure and affordable energy”.  Since COP28 in Dubai, World Nuclear Association has assembled a coalition of the ambitious that now includes 31 countries,14 of the world’s largest banks, and more than 130 companies supporting this goal to triple nuclear capacity by 2050.  This broad coalition recognizes that without a substantial increase in nuclear power there is no viable path to a low-carbon energy future that delivers energy security and prosperity for all.     

The growth in nuclear capacity needs to be sustained and multi-dimensional, with investment in both existing, long-proven approaches, complemented by new technologies and models.  There is no “one size fits all” approach.  Different countries and different industries will draw on nuclear’s potential in different ways to meet their energy needs.  

Nuclear currently provides around 10% of the world’s electricity.   In many countries large-scale nuclear reactors have provided the baseload - the 24/7 supply of electricity we all have relied on for five decades.  To continue to provide guaranteed baseload power for future generations, we will need more large reactors, as well as further lifetime extensions for current plants, and the recommissioning of reactors taken out of service prematurely, 

At the same time, this report is bullish on small modular reactors (SMRs) which we agree provide exciting new opportunities and applications for the deployment of nuclear technology, including for new partners and customers.  There are multiple different SMR technologies in development. Some will be widely deployed over the next decade, whilst more novel technologies are at an earlier stage of development. Together the range of SMR technologies in development will see nuclear being used in new environments and for new purposes, from the provision of dependable, always-on electricity for data centres and technology partners, to the delivery of high-temperature, low-carbon heat to produce hydrogen, power desalination plants and decarbonize heavy manufacturing processes. 

The expansion of the nuclear industry requires us all to look beyond our traditional boundaries.  New alliances between nuclear companies and the technology industry and other partners are leading to innovation, fresh thinking and new financing models. 

But the nuclear industry and the private sector can’t do it alone.  

The IEA makes clear the importance of governments providing the energy policies, the industrial strategies and the regulatory and financial frameworks, that will help de-risk investments and provide the certainty needed to allow increased, faster and more cost-effective nuclear deployment.   

The IEA also makes clear that multilateral lending institutions, like the World Bank, should fully embrace the opportunity that nuclear presents. Finance from these institutions can underwrite and secure additional public and private capital and open up the benefits of nuclear power to more people in more countries, advancing human development across the world. 

In 2025, World Nuclear Association will continue its work to make the tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050 a reality.  Much of our work will address themes raised by the IEA’s report. 

For instance, the IEA notes that as global nuclear capacity increases, uranium requirements will rise, and argues for greater diversity of uranium supply and enrichment services.  This year World Nuclear Association will publish the 22nd World Nuclear Fuel Cycle Report with in-depth analysis of uranium markets and the nuclear fuel cycle.  And in April, international experts, market observers, governments and industry will meet at our World Nuclear Fuel Cycle conference to tackle the challenge of fueling the expected global growth of nuclear.   

The IEA rightly states that the next era of nuclear energy calls for robust, efficient and diversified supply chains.  In June, project developers, nuclear suppliers and manufacturers, reactor vendors and new market entrants will join forces at our World Nuclear Supply Chain conference to accelerate the rebuilding of the nuclear industrial infrastructure and its capabilities.    

And in September, our World Nuclear Symposium – our 50th Symposium – will connect and unite the global nuclear industry with government, finance, technology, the wider energy sector and beyond to generate the thought leadership and new alliances needed to make “the new era of nuclear” envisaged by the IEA a reality."

You can read a summary of the report here. 
Or access the full report here.