Category: News Story

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Innovative plant breeding programmes using safe and proven nuclear techniques are vital for enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture.  

For nearly 60 years, the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and its Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, have been using gamma rays and X-rays to irradiate seeds and plant tissues to speed up the natural evolution process of gene mutation in plants. This technique generates genetic diversity for breeding new and improved crop varieties. Radiation-induced mutation produces millions of variants. There is no residual radiation left in a plant afterward. Breeders then screen for the desired traits and crossbreed. 

To promote research and development on mutation breeding in West and sub-Saharan Africa, the IAEA has designated the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in plant breeding and associated technologies for food and nutrition security for a period of four years. A signing and plaque award ceremony took place on 29 September at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, in the margins of the 67th annual General Conference.  

“Mutation breeding is an important tool to help us meet the challenge of feeding our planet,” said Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. “It enables us to develop food crops with increased yields, better nutritional quality and greater resilience to the impacts of climate change. By working together more closely with BNARI, we can share expertise and develop capacities for using this safe and highly effective technique across a wider region.”  

BNARI is Africa’s first IAEA Collaborating Centre in the field of plant breeding and genetics, and one of only six worldwide. Due to its geographical location and expertise using radiation-induced mutation, BNARI is well placed to strengthen West African capacities in plant breeding and genetics. 

“We are resolutely committed to leveraging this partnership to advocate for the widespread adoption of mutation breeding and associated technologies to fortify food and nutrition security throughout Africa,” said Michael Osae, Director of BNARI. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

We find ourselves in an unprecedented time, where hunger and malnutrition are on the rise, posing a threat to  humanity.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report unveiled that in 2022, between 691 and 783 million people across the globe experienced hunger. This number represents an alarming increase of 122 million more people facing hunger in 2022 compared to 2019, before the global pandemic. Africa remains the worst-affected region with one in five people facing hunger on the continent, more than twice the global average and disproportionately affecting women and people living in rural areas.

Food and agriculture are still facing significant challenges that must be addressed if we are to achieve  our mission to eradicate hunger and poverty, and ensure the sustainability of agrifood systems. Global food security faces mounting pressures due to the escalating demands on natural resources and risks associated with the impacts of the climate crisis, both of which threaten the overall sustainability global agrifood systems.

The urgency of agrifood systems transformation is now irrefutable. Achieving an expanding, stable, and secure food supply capable of meeting the challenges requires more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.  

Science, technology and innovation (STI) is indispensable for achieving a world free from hunger and malnutrition. STI has the capacity to address the four dimensions of food security, including food availability, accessibility, utilization and stability, as well as affordability.

The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is unique in the UN System, combining complementary mandates, common objectives, joint programming, co-funding and coordinated management. Leveraging its associated laboratories, it serves as a powerful example of interagency cooperation within the UN family, demonstrating remarkable synergy in action.

To further strengthen the strategic partnership between  FAO and IAEA, the two organizations jointly launched the flagship initiative on food security – Atoms4Food.

The Atoms4Food Initiative seeks to provide Member States with ground-breaking solutions, tailored to their specific needs and circumstances, by harnessing the advantages of nuclear techniques along with other advanced technologies.

The Initiative will focus on the role of these technologies as drivers of agrifood systems transformation in various areas, including cropping systems, livestock productivity, natural resource management, and food safety, in order to adapt to a rapidly changing climate and anthropogenic impacts, to better support  Member States to achieve the SDGs.

Partnership and collaboration will be the cornerstone for implementing the Initiative. Collaborating with traditional and non-traditional partners , including other UN Agencies, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), International Financial Institutions, development agencies, foundations, industry, national academia and research institutions, and other relevant partners, will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the Initiative’s outcomes.

Together, and with Atoms4Food adding a new impetus, FAO and IAEA remain committed to elevate their long-standing strategic partnership towards achieving common goals, seeking to foster a multi-disciplinary approach to develop a holistic Action Plan addressing the challenges to food security and expediting progress towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The IAEA’s Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi opened the IAEA’s 29th International Fusion Energy Conference (FEC) in London on Monday, with the announcement an inaugural meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group will be convened next year. This group aims to bring together not just scientists and engineers from laboratories and experimental centres, but also policy makers, financiers, regulators and private companies. This collaboration will enable these stakeholders to keep pace as the fusion energy journey continues from the experimental stage towards demonstration, with the eventual goal of commercial fusion energy production. 

The announcement comes as interest in fusion energy research gains momentum around the world. Fusion has the potential to provide a source of limitless, inherently safe, clean and affordable energy.   

“Big science needs collaboration, and it doesn’t get much bigger than fusion energy,” Director General Grossi said in his opening statement on 16 October.   

“I will shortly invite fusion experts to work with the IAEA to outline Fusion Key Elements such as fusion-related definitions, characteristics and criteria for fusion energy to help develop common understanding among stakeholders essential for global deployment,” he added.  

The Fusion Key Elements are expected to be identified in time for the inaugural gathering of the World Fusion Energy Group next year.   

The IAEA also launched a new publication at the opening of the conference, the IAEA World Fusion Outlook, a comprehensive guide on fusion’s journey from vision to reality. The publication aims to become a global reference for authoritative information regarding the latest developments in fusion energy.  

The IAEA supports fusion research by providing atomic and physics data through seven fusion databases, as well as other opportunities for scientific collaboration through its Fusion Portal and Fusional Device Information System.   

In the past weeks, the IAEA signed a partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to set up the first Collaborating Centre focussed on fusion. The IAEA is also collaborating with companies such as Eni, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, General Atomics, Tokamak Energy and First Light Fusion who are at the forefront of fusion research and development.  

Around 2000 people will gather at this year’s FEC to discuss the achievements made over the past two years since the previous conference. These include the Joint European Taurus (JET)’s world energy record; the National Ignition Facility’s scientific energy gain; MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ high-temperature semi-conducting magnet and the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak’s long-pulse operation. In addition, billions of dollars have been invested into private sector fusion research, reflected in the FEC session, Pathways to Fusion, bringing together public and private sector developments.  

A Women in Fusion side event will be held as part of the FEC conference on Tuesday. The event promotes greater gender equality and diversity in the fusion energy workforce, which currently stands at 20 per cent women. In March, the Women in Fusion launched a mentoring programme to support the professional development of women working in all aspects of the fusion sector – from research to engineering to communications.  

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

Ladies and gentlemen,

It’s a pleasure to open the IAEA’s Fusion Energy Conference and to be back here in the United Kingdom, host of the second Fusion Energy Conference in 1965, the 10th in 1984 and the 29th, today in 2023.

It is good to be here in this home of so many important fusion endeavours: Mast Upgrade, STEP, JET, RACE, Tokamak Energy, First Light Fusion and General Fusion, to name a few.

Before I begin my remarks, let me wish a happy 40th anniversary to JET, the first tritium experiment in Europe, breaker of scientific records, producer of generations of accomplished scientists and engineers, and a true magnet for international collaboration.

Big science needs collaboration and it doesn’t get much bigger than fusion energy. In fusion energy, it doesn’t get bigger than the IAEA Fusion Energy Conference.  

Since the early 1960s, this conference has been the marker of many milestones; a place where Nobel prize winners, inventors and scientists have come to unveil their achievements, often months and years in the making. For decades, the Fusion Energy Conference has been setting the direction of fusion research – from the shift to the tokamak after the 1968 conference to the discovery of H-mode after the 1982 conference.

I hear many in the fusion community call the Fusion Energy Conference simply “the IAEA”. I don’t want to spoil the party, but I have to tell you…there are a few other things the IAEA does too.

And that is a good thing because it gives us many years of experience, not only bringing scientists and engineers together, but also bringing policy makers, regulators, investors and other key stakeholders to the table.

This year’s FEC has 2,000 participants and our always-evolving programme includes a session on the “Pathways to Fusion” – which brings together both public and private sector developments.

Fusion is making progress. Progress is being made at ITER. It is being made here in the UK and all around the world, in Europe, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia, and the USA. Since the last Fusion Energy Conference, in 2021, there have been momentous achievements in the field. Today you will hear about: JET’s world energy record; NIF’s scientific energy gain; MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ high-temperature superconducting magnet; and EAST’s long-pulse operation. Meanwhile, more than $6bn has gone into the private sector.

Young entrepreneurs I have met from England to New England, talk about their plans to get their projects up by 2025. Such ambition and enthusiasm is catching and the FEC has always been a place where ideas and enthusiasm are shared.

Now is the time to use the momentum and the enthusiasm and ride it to more breakthroughs.

The world is in urgent need of reliable energy sources that mitigate climate change and provide energy security. Governments know it, the public is demanding it, and people are becoming better informed about fusion.

The FEC will always be a place dedicated to science and engineering in fusion. But the fusion community is growing. We are at a crucial moment in the development of the field and there are new stakeholders who want to be – and need to be – part of the dialogue. I want you to be the first to hear the news from me: the IAEA will convene the inaugural World Fusion Energy Group next year. It will bring together you, the indispensable scientists and engineers, policy makers, financiers, regulators and civil society. This next leg of the fusion energy journey will get us from experiment to demonstration to commercial fusion energy production.

It is time to tell the story of fusion widely and with confidence. Fusion can provide stable, baseload power, and complement intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind. Fusion could help address the challenges of grid stability and energy storage. Fusion technology will be inherently safe with no long-lived radioactive waste. Fusion could revolutionize the way industries produce high-grade heat, to achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial practices. Fusion can provide enhanced energy security and independence from market fluctuations because its inputs are widely available or produced in situ. 

There is of course the question of timing – that old quip that fusion will always be the energy of the future. But with every breakthrough we are experiencing, that belief sounds more and more outdated.

Will fusion get us to our climate goals of 2050? That is being debated. But the world will continue after 2050, and it will need clean energy on a massive scale beyond that date, to be sure.

No energy is more expensive than no energy, as the distinguished Indian nuclear physicist Homi Bhabha, said.

Today, nearly 800 million people still have no access to electricity. If billions of people are to be lifted from poverty, developing countries will be requiring much bigger energy budgets by the second half of this century. Meeting those needs requires investments made today. Here, I am not only talking of financial investments. Let me tell you a bit about how the IAEA is investing in the future of fusion.

We have brought together experts from across the IAEA’s disciplines to address all aspects of fusion, from research and development to future demonstration and deployment. We are also looking at safety and regulation, and even proliferation aspects of fusion and its interrelation with international law. We will draw from our long experience, deep knowledge and wide network in fission energy systems.

And we are reaching out beyond our hallways. Just a few weeks ago, I travelled to Massachusetts and signed a partnership with MIT to create the first Collaborating Centre focussed on fusion. We are also collaborating with companies, including Eni, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, General Atomics, and Tokamak Energy and First Light Fusion, here in the UK.

The IAEA will continue to support research in fusion through its Coordinated Research Programmes. We will continue to provide and manage important atomic and plasma physics data through 7 fusion databases. The Agency’s Fusion Portal has more than 10,000 users a year. It is the single access point to the Agency’s work in fusion and it is the home of the Fusion Device Information System, which has been visited more than 40,000 times.

Nuclear Fusion – the first and premier scientific journal in the field – continues strong after more than 60 years.

But the community and the public still lack a regularly published, recognized reference that tells us exactly where we are and what is happening on all the world’s continents in fusion. This is why, today in London, I am proud to introduce the IAEA’s World Fusion Outlook. 

I am confident it will become the global reference for authoritative information and updates on fusion energy, its developments and its prospects.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Fusion is not to be confined to the laboratories and experimental centres. They, of course, are indispensable. But the ambition is to bring fusion energy to the economy. To make it part of the energy mix of the not-to-distant future, credible pathways must be identified, encouraged and supported.

I believe private-public partnerships will become increasingly important as the emphasis on R&D for fusion power plants grows.

We are seeing more and more start-ups enter this space. Many, like Kyoto Fusioneering, will become important parts of the supply chain that builds the fusion power industry.

But like a puzzle, these pieces only become a coherent picture when you align them. With its global reach, the IAEA is able to align fusion energy R&D programs to give us a clearer picture of where the sector is heading. This clarity and alignment will help make the most of existing facilities and optimize the development of new ones. It will support the testing and qualifying of crucial fusion technology components, in parallel with DEMO designs and constructions. Global cooperation, public-private partnership and effective regulation will all play crucial roles in fusion’s progress.

The IAEA has been, is and will be the central hub for international cooperation and coordination in fusion, just as it is for fission. That is why I believe we should not only discuss where we are today. Let us pave the way, support each other, and nurture projects and groups around the world. This is what the World Fusion Energy Group is all about.

The World Fusion Energy Group will bring together a set of diverse stakeholders in a dialogue that will drive fusion development forward.

I will shortly invite fusion experts to work with the IAEA to outline Fusion Key Elements such as fusion-related definitions, characteristics and criteria for fusion energy to help develop common understanding among stakeholders essential for global deployment. I expect these Fusion Key Elements to be ready by the inaugural gathering of World Fusion Energy Group.

In closing, let me thank you. I am inspired by your determination and enthusiasm. It is a privilege to be working together on this grand engineering endeavour of the 21st Century. We all are benefiting from the scientific and engineering feats of generations past. Standing on the shoulders of those who preceded us, we can see further and accomplish more.

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

While we may have different views on how exactly the global energy landscape will look in the coming years, we all see a place for fusion. Making this possibility a reality, is up to all of us.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The IAEA’s 2nd International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power 2023: Atoms4NetZero concluded in Vienna today with an appeal for a “level playing field” on energy policies and access to financing so that nuclear power can fulfil its potential in achieving climate change and energy security goals. 

The conference’s president, Ambassador Hamad Alkaabi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), brought the event to an end following a week of high-level talks involving nearly 550 participants from 81 countries and 26 invited organisations. Participants agreed that nuclear energy plays a pivotal role in addressing climate change but must overcome several challenges to achieve the large-scale deployment that several authoritative global studies say is needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

“We must continue to push for a level playing field for nuclear energy, in terms of policies and access to financing, which can allow the technology to benefit from similarly favorable conditions that helped to deploy renewable energy technologies at scale over the last decade,” Mr Alkaabi said in his summary of the conference’s conclusions. “Long term energy policies, innovative electricity market designs and technology-neutral sustainable finance frameworks that recognize nuclear’s contribution to energy system reliability, flexibility and decarbonization are needed.” 

At the start of the conference, the IAEA released its latest annual outlook for nuclear power in the coming decades, with its projections revised up for a third consecutive year. The high case projection sees installed nuclear capacity more than doubling by 2050. That is just above the figures recently published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for nuclear power’s required contribution to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the average increase in global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. 

Currently, 31 countries operate nuclear power, which provides more than nine per cent of the world’s electricity but accounts for around 25 per cent of its clean electricity. Another 30 countries or so are embarking on or considering the introduction of nuclear power, with support from the IAEA. 

“We found consensus on the crucial role of nuclear energy in meeting climate targets, with emphasis on safe long-term operation of existing nuclear power plants in established nuclear markets, the need to rapidly deploy proven large-scale reactors and the urgency of bringing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to market as soon as possible, particularly to replace fossil plants of similar size, including to meet the needs of emerging countries and for non-electric applications,” Mr Alkaabi said. 

The UAE will host COP28, the UN’s main climate change conference, starting next month in Dubai, where the IAEA for the second successive year will host a pavilion highlighting the role of nuclear energy in mitigating and adapting to climate change. “This year at COP, countries using nuclear energy will gather around the global convening point of the IAEA to state the reality: they use, they will continue to use, and they will increase the contribution of nuclear energy to the energy mix,” IAEA Director General said in his  opening remarks to this week’s conference. 

The conference kicked off with a keynote address by Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, who noted that progress on nuclear power is currently not keeping pace and pointed to Europe, where 20 years ago nuclear provided 30% of electricity but will fall to about 15% in the coming years unless national policies change. “This has a lot of implications,” Mr Birol said, “for Europe’s electricity security and how challenging it will be to fight against climate change.” 

As well as providing clean electricity 24 hours a day, nuclear power could also radically cut emissions in industry, transportation and buildings, known as the hard-to-abate sectors, which are responsible for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power can produce process heat for industries such as cement and steel making, clean hydrogen for transport and other uses, district heating for buildings and also help address the growing global need for fresh drinking water by reducing the carbon footprint of desalinisation.  

“Nuclear power is the only technology that can produce at scale the three low-carbon energy vectors needed to reach net zero: electricity, heat and hydrogen,” Mr Alkaabi said. “Unfortunately, there is a large disconnect between what nuclear technology can deliver and how this potential is portrayed in climate scenarios that inform policymakers.”  

To help governments and financial institutions make data-driven, science-based decisions about their investments in future energy systems, the IAEA last year launched the Atoms4NetZero initiative. In cooperation with a variety of partners, it aims to provide a comprehensive energy scenario modelling service, featuring the full potential of nuclear power in achieving net zero emissions, including providing non-electric applications such as hydrogen production.  

The weeklong conference included ten high-level panels, a high-level segment, a special session, 18 technical sessions, and seven side events organized by various stakeholders. The panels focused on the role of nuclear power in the global clean energy transition, and how to enable it to fulfil its potential in that role, and mobilize multi-stakeholders, including women and young generation groups, to facilitate the global dialogue about nuclear as a sustainable low-carbon energy source. More about the conference, including the programme can be found be here. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The IAEA’s 2nd International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power 2023: Atoms4NetZero concluded in Vienna today with an appeal for a “level playing field” on energy policies and access to financing so that nuclear power can fulfil its potential in achieving climate change and energy security goals. 

The conference’s president, Ambassador Hamad Alkaabi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), brought the event to an end following a week of high-level talks involving nearly 550 participants from 81 countries and 26 invited organisations. Participants agreed that nuclear energy plays a pivotal role in addressing climate change but must overcome several challenges to achieve the large-scale deployment that several authoritative global studies say is needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

“We must continue to push for a level playing field for nuclear energy, in terms of policies and access to financing, which can allow the technology to benefit from similarly favorable conditions that helped to deploy renewable energy technologies at scale over the last decade,” Mr Alkaabi said in his summary of the conference’s conclusions. “Long term energy policies, innovative electricity market designs and technology-neutral sustainable finance frameworks that recognize nuclear’s contribution to energy system reliability, flexibility and decarbonization are needed.” 

At the start of the conference, the IAEA released its latest annual outlook for nuclear power in the coming decades, with its projections revised up for a third consecutive year. The high case projection sees installed nuclear capacity more than doubling by 2050. That is just above the figures recently published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for nuclear power’s required contribution to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the average increase in global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. 

Currently, 31 countries operate nuclear power, which provides more than nine per cent of the world’s electricity but accounts for around 25 per cent of its clean electricity. Another 30 countries or so are embarking on or considering the introduction of nuclear power, with support from the IAEA. 

“We found consensus on the crucial role of nuclear energy in meeting climate targets, with emphasis on safe long-term operation of existing nuclear power plants in established nuclear markets, the need to rapidly deploy proven large-scale reactors and the urgency of bringing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to market as soon as possible, particularly to replace fossil plants of similar size, including to meet the needs of emerging countries and for non-electric applications,” Mr Alkaabi said. 

The UAE will host COP28, the UN’s main climate change conference, starting next month in Dubai, where the IAEA for the second successive year will host a pavilion highlighting the role of nuclear energy in mitigating and adapting to climate change. “This year at COP, countries using nuclear energy will gather around the global convening point of the IAEA to state the reality: they use, they will continue to use, and they will increase the contribution of nuclear energy to the energy mix,” IAEA Director General said in his  opening remarks to this week’s conference. 

The conference kicked off with a keynote address by Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, who noted that progress on nuclear power is currently not keeping pace and pointed to Europe, where 20 years ago nuclear provided 30% of electricity but will fall to about 15% in the coming years unless national policies change. “This has a lot of implications,” Mr Birol said, “for Europe’s electricity security and how challenging it will be to fight against climate change.” 

As well as providing clean electricity 24 hours a day, nuclear power could also radically cut emissions in industry, transportation and buildings, known as the hard-to-abate sectors, which are responsible for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power can produce process heat for industries such as cement and steel making, clean hydrogen for transport and other uses, district heating for buildings and also help address the growing global need for fresh drinking water by reducing the carbon footprint of desalinisation.  

“Nuclear power is the only technology that can produce at scale the three low-carbon energy vectors needed to reach net zero: electricity, heat and hydrogen,” Mr Alkaabi said. “Unfortunately, there is a large disconnect between what nuclear technology can deliver and how this potential is portrayed in climate scenarios that inform policymakers.”  

To help governments and financial institutions make data-driven, science-based decisions about their investments in future energy systems, the IAEA last year launched the Atoms4NetZero initiative. In cooperation with a variety of partners, it aims to provide a comprehensive energy scenario modelling service, featuring the full potential of nuclear power in achieving net zero emissions, including providing non-electric applications such as hydrogen production.  

The weeklong conference included ten high-level panels, a high-level segment, a special session, 18 technical sessions, and seven side events organized by various stakeholders. The panels focused on the role of nuclear power in the global clean energy transition, and how to enable it to fulfil its potential in that role, and mobilize multi-stakeholders, including women and young generation groups, to facilitate the global dialogue about nuclear as a sustainable low-carbon energy source. More about the conference, including the programme can be found be here. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Satyajit Ghose has spent nearly 30 years in the field of nuclear safety, of which the last 15 years he worked as a regulator for Bangladesh’s nuclear sector. Last year, his daily regulatory activities included preparing for and hosting a complex international peer review to assess how Bangladesh is ensuring the protection of people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

The review was timely, as Bangladesh is embarking on a nuclear power programme. Its first nuclear power plant (NPP), Rooppur NPP, is under construction, and earlier this month, Bangladesh officially received its first uranium shipment to fuel the NPP. Once operational, Rooppur NPP will provide 2400 MW of clean energy, supporting the country’s efforts to decarbonise and become a developed economy by 2041. “Bangladesh stands as a success story for newcomer countries in nuclear power development, advancing its programme under the IAEA’s guidance,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “The IAEA will continue to support their nuclear journey.”

The IAEA offers more than 30 peer review and advisory services to help countries strengthen and enhance their nuclear-related practices. Peer reviews, which are organized upon request, compare the country’s national infrastructure and practices with IAEA safety standards and other publications. These services, often referred to as ‘missions,’ focus on an array of specialties, from nuclear safety and security to safeguards and the health sector. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) is one such mission that reviews a country’s regulatory infrastructure against IAEA safety standards with a view to improve nuclear and radiation safety and facilitate global harmonization.

“The IRRS mission in Bangladesh was particularly important to review and strengthen regulatory infrastructure required for ensuring the safety of the country’s nuclear power programme,” said Zia Shah, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. Shah was the Team Coordinator of the IAEA’s IRRS in Bangladesh, from 26 November to 8 December 2022. “This IRRS mission provides an opportunity for the country to optimize efforts and resources for effective regulatory oversight of the nuclear power plant and all other nuclear-related facilities and activities in line with the IAEA safety standards.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

To forge credible pathways to net zero, policy makers need comprehensive, science-based data to make informed choices about their national energy future. Yet nuclear power, despite its proven role in mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security and sustainable development, currently has a limited role in energy scenario studies used by governments and investors to chart the transition to net zero.

The IAEA’s Atoms4NetZero initiative bridges that gap by providing decision makers with comprehensive, data-driven energy scenario modelling that also includes the full potential of nuclear power in contributing to net zero emissions. Launched by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi at COP27 last year, Atoms4NetZero was showcased at a side event last month during the 67th IAEA General Conference in Vienna that featured speakers from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

“Atoms4NetZero supports countries towards our goal, which is harnessing the power of nuclear energy to achieve net zero carbon emissions and energy security,” Mr Grossi said in a video address that opened the side event.  

The initiative will be a featured topic at the IAEA’s 2nd International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power: Atoms4NetZero, in Vienna next week. See the conference programme, and register to virtually attend.

“Energy modelling scenarios that are considered within the framework of Atoms4NetZero are important because, in Africa especially, we are facing a serious energy deficit situation, and our policy makers are looking at different options,” Enobot Agboraw, Executive Secretary of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), said at the side event. “They’re looking at nuclear power; they’re looking at renewables, and it is very important that they are properly informed in order to be able to make the best possible decisions. Energy modelling provides, scientifically based evidence so that they can make decisions that are not based on hearsay or emotion, but solid decisions that would enable us to address this issue of climate change and energy deficit.”

Thirty-one countries currently have nuclear power, and some 30 others are considering or embarking on its introduction. Almost half of these so-called nuclear newcomers are in Africa including Egypt, which has already started building its first nuclear power plant. The IAEA works with newcomers in supporting their development of the necessary infrastructure for a safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programme.

Modelling scenarios incorporate real constraints countries face as they seek to build energy systems to meet their net zero objectives, according to Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary, Office of Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Energy. Constraints may come in the form of a lack of electricity transmission lines or the power system’s inability to match hour to hour supply and demand. Policy makers need modelling scenarios to accurately determine the type, quantity, scale, location and types of energy sources. “Decisions at the policy level absolutely have to be data informed,” Huff said.

Atoms4NetZero will also help assess the potential contribution of advanced nuclear reactors, including small modular reactors (SMRs), to long term national energy strategies. This includes nuclear energy to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors beyond electricity such as industry and transportation, which make up almost 60 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. The initiative will develop credible scenarios by using IAEA analytical tools such as MESSAGE, or Model for Energy Supply System Alternatives.

“We’re really excited to see the Atoms4NetZero initiative move forward,” added Huff. “We think there are going to be a lot of very interesting results to come out of that, which is important for a lot of nations.”

There are currently 58 nuclear power reactors totalling some 60 GW(e) in installed capacity under construction in 17 countries, with more than one third of them in China, the world’s leading reactor builder. Global nuclear power capacity needs to more than double by 2050 to meet net zero goals, according to International Energy Agency. Other organizations, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have pointed to the need for an even greater increase in nuclear.

“Atoms4NetZero emissions of carbon is very important for the future,” said Zheng Mingguang, President of the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, which is the nuclear technology innovation and project construction platform of China’s State Power Investment Corporation. “Nuclear power could do more work in this area as nuclear technology is proven and the nuclear power competence is there, and the complete supply system of equipment and materials is also established.”

In Italy, which abandoned nuclear power in the late 1980s, the current government recently set up a task force to examine how new nuclear technologies such as SMRs, which offer greater flexibility for working with intermittent renewables, can help decarbonize the country’s energy system. Carbon dioxide emissions from Italian electricity production are currently around 265 grams per kWh, almost seven times higher than the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“In the coming months, we will be engaged to develop some specific scenarios where we have to see the added value of nuclear energy for a country where there is, of course, and there will be a deeper and deeper penetration of renewables,” said Stefano Monti, President of the Italian Nuclear Association. “One of the tasks, also using the energy modelling offered by Atoms4NetZero, is to look at how to integrate nuclear with renewables.”

Beyond energy modelling for net zero, Atoms4NetZero encompasses several other areas of activity to support countries in their clean energy transition. These include expert missions to support long term energy strategy development, workshops and training for capacity building, as well as outreach and stakeholder engagement.

“Until now, energy modelling for net zero has mostly excluded nuclear power, even though it provides around a quarter of all low carbon electricity,” said Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy. “But now countries have a new tool to provide the full picture of the possible pathways to achieving our climate goals: Atoms4NetZero.”