Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA
“Net zero needs nuclear because this is the only way we will completely decarbonize,” de Croo said at the youth event. “We will need a lot of renewables, but we will need a lot of nuclear as well.”
The European Commission recently launched the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to help accelerate development and deployment. “The IAEA analysis tells us that investments need to accelerate this decade and reach new heights in the 2030s to meet the Paris Agreement target,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. “That requires support from governments to ensure that financing is available and that nuclear’s contribution to electricity security is properly valued and remunerated.”
“Today I can assure you that nuclear is coming back, and coming back strongly,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, echoing his organization’s projections that nuclear power generation is set to reach a record high in 2025.
Industry representatives also affirmed their readiness to support governmental efforts to expand nuclear power in a joint statement. They pledged to work closely with interested governments and support the continued operation of existing nuclear power facilities, the construction of new ones and the development of nuclear infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy, Innovation and Implementation in the United States of America.
Four panel sessions covered topics that included maintaining and expanding nuclear capacity, technology advancements, fuel cycle innovations and facilitating an equitable clean energy market through financing mechanisms.
Melanie Nakagawa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft, spoke on the importance of driving clean electricity demand through corporate partnerships. “The role we play as a technology company is to be a demand signal to all the carbon-free power technologies including emerging technologies, from SMRs to advance reactors and fusion, including for our suppliers”. Earlier this week, Microsoft, Google and Nucor, a steel company, announced a collaboration for carbon-free electricity. “So, everything from advanced reactors to fusion technology to advanced geothermal and long-duration energy storage – how are these players coming into the marketplace to provide the supply that we are requesting that will allow us to meet our goals,” she said.
A senior representative, as well as two executives from Google, were also in attendance at the Summit.
The need for governments to collaborate with industry in order to deploy fusion energy was also addressed. “I think that the feasibility of nuclear fusion as an energy source will be demonstrated in a relatively short time – in a decade,” said Pietro Barabaschi, Director-General of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). “But the viability as a reliable energy source requires a lot of imagination. It will require a worldwide fusion development programme.”
Represented at the Summit through Zhang Guoqing, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Liu Jing, Vice Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, and Shudong Cao, Vice President, CNNC, China has ambitions to potentially reach around 400 GW(e) of installed nuclear power capacity by 2060 — more than the capacity of the current global reactor fleet. According to Mr Cao, China’s expansion will include a mix of technologies, from large conventional reactors to innovative ones such as the HTR-PM, a high temperature gas cooled small modular reactor that China put online last year. “Nuclear energy possesses unique advantages in addressing climate change and ensuring energy security,” said Guoqing.
“The Nuclear Energy Summit must be a turning point for nuclear energy, calling for global investment across all economies,” said Mr Grossi. “The IAEA, born from a vision of nuclear for peace and prosperity, is here to support this transition.”