World Nuclear Association attends the Global Conference on Energy & AI
World Nuclear Association attended the Global Conference on Energy & Artificial Intelligence (AI) on 4 and 5 December 2024 in Paris, France hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA). This was the first time the IEA had brought together high-level representatives from government, the energy industry, the tech sector, financial institutions, and civil society and academia with a specific focus on AI and what it means for the energy sector.
Nuclear Powering AI Innovation
AI is emerging as one of the most consequential technologies of our time. AI is energy intensive; technology companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google are investing in nuclear energy to meet the demands of generative AI. This week Meta announced it too was looking for nuclear capacity for its future energy needs.
King Lee, Head of Policy & Industry Engagement at World Nuclear Association, contributed to the IEA Global Conference on Energy & AI dialogue with the energy industry during roundtable discussion. Meeting with the technology sector and with senior policymakers, King highlighted the unique proposition that nuclear energy offers to provide large amounts of reliable, firm, clean energy to power the growth of AI.
Closing the 2 day conference, IEA Executive Director, Dr Fatih Birol, outlined six principles to govern how the energy sector and AI sector can work together going forward:
- There is no AI without energy. Data centers and AI infrastructure for the future must be delivered using sustainable energy. Nuclear energy is key to delivering the reliable, clean, 24/7 energy that AI technology needs.
- The growth of AI provides an opportunity for the energy sector, including the nuclear energy industry, to enhance energy security for all. As energy sources, such as new nuclear, for AI technology are brought online; improvements to grid flexibility for example will need to be made.
- As the AI sector scales up, the energy sector needs improved transparency and sharing of data. This reliable information will enable clean energy companies, including the nuclear industry, to be able to take informed decisions and plan delivery based on reliable metrics on data center capacity, electricity consumption, procurement and efficiency.
- As the clean energy capacity is built to fuel AI, this makes access to energy more, not less, equitable for all.
- The onus is on governments to deliver supportive policies, and financial institutions and industry to deliver business models, to ensure that as the use of AI increases, the expansion can be supported by clean energy, including nuclear.
- As AI usage and technology moves at pace, continuous dialogue between the technology sector and the energy sector must be in place to ensure maximum benefit for all.
The opening session of the high-level roundtable on 5 December can be viewed here, while the fireside chats are available here. The Chair’s Summary of the conference can be found here.
The IEA will launch a new AI-based chatbot for users next week to explore the 2024 edition of the Agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook report.
The World Nuclear Association will continue to work alongside the IEA to develop a global approach to AI and energy issues into 2025 and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the nuclear energy industry is positioned to meet the growth in energy demand for all, including that from large data centres.
