Category: Nuclear Weapons

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IAEA Board of Governors Elects New Chairperson for 2025

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

  Ambassador Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

In a special meeting today the IAEA Board of Governors elected Ambassador Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman of Ghana as its Chairperson for 2025. She will complete the remainder of the term of office of her predecessor, Ambassador Philbert Abaka Johnson of Ghana, who was elected in September 2024. Ambassador Osei-Agyeman’s term commences today and will end in September 2025. 

Ambassador Osei-Agyeman is the Permanent Representative of Ghana to the IAEA, the United Nations Offices and other international organizations in Vienna. A career diplomat with over 25 years of experience, she has held various positions in Ghana and abroad covering both bilateral and multilateral issues.  

Prior to her appointment in Vienna, Ambassador Osei-Agyeman served as Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Ambassador in the Embassy of the Republic of Ghana to Italy from 2023 to 2024. She has also served in diplomatic postings in the United Kingdom, Malta, the United States of America and at Ghana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.  

Ambassador Osei-Agyeman has also held numerous posts in Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, including, most recently, serving as Director of the Europe Bureau from 2021 to 2023 and as the first Director of the Candidatures Portfolio in 2021, where she ensured effective advocacy resulting in Ghana’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2022 and 2023.  

Ambassador Osei-Agyeman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Ghana and a Master of Arts in international affairs from the Legon Centre for International Affairs & Diplomacy in Ghana. She has also participated in various courses on leadership and diplomacy. 

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Nuclear Energy in the Clean Energy Transition

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Dispatchable energy

Unlike wind and solar, nuclear power plants and hydropower offer dispatchable energy, meaning they are able to adjust their output to meet electricity demand. Additionally, the expanded use of nuclear power for non-electric applications, including district heating, hydrogen production, desalination and heat for industrial processes, offers further options to reduce emissions.

To support this increasing nuclear energy demand, the IAEA is actively assisting countries by providing technical expertise and capacity building to help them establish or expand nuclear power plants.

Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Reviews (INIR) are an example where the IAEA assists countries to assess the status of their national infrastructure as they embark on establishing nuclear power plants. INIR missions enable countries to engage in discussions and receive guidance from experts about recommendations and best practices in nuclear power infrastructure development.

These missions ensure that the infrastructure necessary for the safe, secure and sustainable use of nuclear power is developed and implemented in a responsible and orderly manner.

In 2009, the IAEA conducted the first INIR Mission to a country initiating the use of nuclear power. Since then, INIR missions have been hosted by various states including the United Arab Emirates, that has successfully established the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. This year, it is expected to supply around 25 per cent of the UAE’s electricity, up from its current contribution of 20 per cent, reducing the country’s carbon emissions by 22 million tonnes annually.

Similarly, countries like Sweden, France and Finland have utilized nuclear energy combined with hydro and renewables to largely decarbonize their electricity production.  France has an extremely low level of CO2 emissions from electricity generation, since over 90 per cent of its electricity is from low-carbon sources, 70 per cent of that from nuclear power. And 94 percent of Sweden’s electricity comes from low carbon sources in Sweden with more than a third coming from nuclear, according to the IEA.

Newcomer countries

The IAEA is also supporting newcomer countries and developing countries in their transition to nuclear energy, with trainings, technical assistance, and technology transfer of tools and methodologies to help them evaluate the role of different technologies in meeting their future energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

“A few years ago, discussions might have been about phasing out nuclear energy. Today, at the World Economic Forum, we’re on the road to tripling nuclear capacity. This shows a shift in how nuclear energy is increasingly seen as essential for net-zero and energy transition,” said Mr Grossi this week at the first ever public session on nuclear energy at the World Economic forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

The IAEA’s latest projections indicate that world nuclear capacity will increase 2.5 times the current capacity by 2050. At present, 31 countries operate power plants, with 419 reactors in operation, a combined electrical capacity of 378.1 gigawatt GW, producing about 10 per cent of the world’s electricity.  Additionally, over 62 reactors are currently under construction, highlighting the growing adoption of nuclear energy worldwide.

“I am confident 2025 will see commitments translated into concrete projects. Nuclear energy is still providing the world with a quarter of its low-carbon power and supporting the roll out of intermittent renewables like solar and wind. In future we will see even more nuclear deliver the clean, reliable, and secure power the world needs. As always, IAEA will be there to assist countries in making it happen,” said Mr Grossi.

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IAEA Work Central at World Economic Forum in Davos

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

“The work of the IAEA is at the centre of the debates. In particular, the nexus between nuclear energy and artificial intelligence has attracted a lot of attention,” the Director General said in Davos.  

The IAEA held a session on nuclear’s role in meeting energy demands for artificial intelligence (AI), with experts from Bloomberg and technology venture capitalists DCVC. “Big tech needs nuclear to power energy-intensive AI data centres,” explained Mr Grossi.  

A major event was also held on tripling nuclear energy, and the need for standardization, regulation, financing and collaboration in scaling up nuclear.  

The Director General met with multiple world leaders to discuss development, energy and world peace, including Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Austria’s Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and Flanders’ Minister-President Matthias Diependaele.  

Mr Grossi and Mr Mulino engaged on the IAEA’s Atoms4Food programme, as well as improving cancer care with the IAEA’s Rays Of Hope programme. “The IAEA is proud to stand with Panama in building a healthier, more resilient future for its people,” the Director General said. 

The IAEA’s work on health, food and nutrition was a focus of multiple high-level dialogues. For example, Mr Grossi met with Viet Nam’s Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat to discuss the drought-tolerant, high-yield rice varieties that were developed with IAEA support, and with the CEO of Anglo American, Duncan Wanblad, on progress on a joint research project to fight soil salinity and advance sustainable farming practices. 

Another key topic for the week was international security, particularly the IAEA’s role in ensuring nonproliferation worldwide. 

The Director General was a speaker at the World Economic Forum’s Rubik’s Cube of Global Security, where he addressed pressures on nonproliferation amid rising geostrategic tensions, alongside Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid AlDabaiba, the International Crisis Group, Comfort Ero, Harvard Kennedy School’s Meghan O’Sullivan, and Foreign Affairs Magazine’s Dan Kurtz-Phelan. 

Watch the recording of the session here.  

The Director General was also active in closed sessions on artificial intelligence and sustainable energy in Latin America with leaders of the region, as well as an event on growing the African economy with leaders from the continent. 

“The mission and the importance of the IAEA continue to grow. This is why we are here in Davos,” concluded the Director General. 

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Update 271 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team based at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has heard frequent explosions from outside the site over the past week, further underlining persistent dangers to nuclear safety and security during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

The team reported hearing multiple instances of such military activity in recent days, at varying distances from the ZNPP. There was no damage reported to the plant itself. Although the sound of nearby military action has been a common occurrence ever since the IAEA established a continued presence at the ZNPP in September 2022, it has happened virtually daily in recent weeks.

“For almost three years now, we have been doing everything we can to help prevent a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and elsewhere in Ukraine. An accident has not occurred, but the situation is not improving. It is still precarious. I remain seriously concerned about nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, including at the Zaporizhzhya site. Our work is far from over,” Director General Grossi said.

As part of the ongoing work to monitor developments relevant for nuclear safety and security, the IAEA team has continued to conduct walkdowns across the site – including but not limited to the main and emergency control rooms of four reactor units and one turbine hall – and observed and discussed various safety-related maintenance activities with the plant.

The IAEA team was also informed that the ZNPP is procuring three new mobile diesel generators, similar to those received late last year. They are in addition to the site’s 20 fixed emergency diesel generators that are designed to provide on-site power if there is a total loss of off-site power.

Separately, the ZNPP said that four diesel steam generators were put into operation for ten days to provide the steam needed to process liquid radioactive waste. These generators were commissioned a year ago.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, air raid alarms were heard on several occasions at Ukraine’s three operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – as well as at the Chornobyl site. At the Khmelnytskyy NPP, the IAEA team members have taken shelter at their residence three times in recent days due to such alerts.

At the Khmelnytskyy and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site, the IAEA teams were informed of instances of drones being detected at distances ranging from 2 to 30 km from the sites.

Despite such military activities, Ukraine’s nine operating nuclear power reactors have been operating at full capacity this week, safely generating much-needed electricity during the cold winter months.

Separately, the Agency continued with deliveries under its comprehensive programme of nuclear safety and security assistance to Ukraine. Last week, the Chornobyl site received equipment to enhance its nuclear security system. The delivery, the 104th organised by the IAEA since the start of the armed conflict, was supported with funds from the United Kingdom.

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Call for Applications: 2025 IAEA Lise Meitner Programme

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(Graphic: A. Vargas/IAEA)

The latest application of the IAEA’s Lise Meitner Programme is now officially open, offering career development and networking opportunities for women professionals in the nuclear field.  

The IAEA Lise Meitner Programme (LMP), named after the Austrian-Swedish physicist instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission, aims to boost technical skills of early and midcareer women professionals in the nuclear sector through visiting programmes hosted by IAEA member countries. The programme is additionally tailored to strengthen participants’ soft skills, particularly in leadership and managerial abilities.  

Interested early and mid-career women professionals from IAEA member countries with a nuclear-related background relevant to the three focus areas of the current LMP editions are encouraged to apply by 7 February 2025. 

To be eligible for the LMP, applicants from an IAEA member country must either be currently employed with 3-10 years of relevant work experience in the nuclear field or in the final year of their PhD studies in the nuclear field with relevant prior working experience. 

The first LMP professional visit in 2025 will be hosted by the Argentinian National Atomic Energy Commission from 4 to 17 May, 2025 and will focus on nuclear power programme development, while the second LMP visit will be hosted by the University of Tokyo and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, under the coordination of the Cabinet Office of Japan, from 8 to 21 June 2025, and will focus on advanced nuclear technology development and Fukushima recovery efforts. 

The third LMP visit will focus on research reactors and will take place from 13 to 25 July 2025, hosted by the McMaster University and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. 

The last LMP visit took place from 25 March to 5 April 2024 in the Republic of Korea and was focused on nuclear power. 

”The Lise Meitner Programme provided me with a unique and invaluable opportunity to connect with women nuclear professionals from across the globe. Through engaging in technical workshops, presentations, professional development activities, and facility tours, I was able to build meaningful bonds and exchange knowledge and experiences with fellow professionals in the field,” said Yasmine Balci, a 2024 LMP Visiting Professional from Türkiye.  

“A nuclear odyssey! That’s how I would describe the 2024 Lise Meitner Programme visit to the Republic of Korea. It was an insightful, rewarding, and holistic programme that has added immense value to my current and future endeavours in the nuclear field,” said Farisha Panday, an LMP visiting professional from South Africa. 

The IAEA works to address the underrepresentation of women in the nuclear field through the LMP and the IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP). The IAEA welcomes partnering opportunities with public and private sectors, academia and civil society to work together for more women in nuclear.  

More information on the programme, including facts and figures, testimonials, donors and programme components can be found here. 

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IAEA Profile: Balancing Numbers and Dreams – A Career in Finance and Accounting

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Carmen Kibonge is the Unit Head of Accounting at the IAEA. (Photo: A. Barber Huescar/IAEA)

The IAEA profiles employees to provide insight into the variety of career paths that support the Agency’s mission of Atoms for Peace and Development and to inspire and encourage readers, particularly women, to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or STEM-adjacent fields. Read more profiles of women at the IAEA.      

Hailing from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Carmen Kibonge has taken a path shaped by a passion for numbers, a supportive family and a commitment to make a difference, which eventually led her to the IAEA.  

Kibonge was raised in a family that encouraged educational aspirations for both girls and boys, which is not always the case in her central African home country, where economic constraints often lead families to prioritize the education of boys. “In my family, it was expected that a girl would go to school. I know I was privileged, and I really appreciated the access to education,” she reflects. She was also inspired by her mother, an HR manager who was one of the few women in her community to pursue higher education.  

From an early age, Kibonge was captivated by mathematics and loved “cracking numbers”. Because of her mental arithmetic skills, her nickname at school was Ordi, after the French word for computer. But maths was not part of her original career aspirations. When she contemplated her future, a desire to help others and the work of international organizations in low and middle income countries like her own led her to consider a career in medicine. Her dream of becoming a paediatrician, however, shifted when she was confronted with the sight of blood in biology class. Nevertheless, the seed of wanting to work internationally had been planted. “I wanted to help people, not just in my country, but globally,” she says.  

Kibonge decided to pursue higher education in Austria, motivated by stories from friends who had lived there, as well as her love of classical music. Following her passion for numbers, she enrolled at the University of Vienna to study business administration with a focus on finance and accounting. Meanwhile, she supported herself by giving maths lessons.  

The move to Vienna was not without its challenges, as Kibonge had to first learn German before starting her degree programme. She dedicated the first two semesters to intensive language study. “Those early days in Vienna were really challenging, but I really put my mind to it,” she recalls. “If you really want something, you can manage it.” Living in the city of classical music had its upsides though, and she often attended performances at the opera and philharmonic, impressed by how accessible they were even for students of modest means.  

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IAEA Director General Visits Panama to Strengthen Cooperation through Rays of Hope and Atoms4Food

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

During a visit to Panama’s National Oncology Institute, Mr Grossi expressed strong support for the country’s structured approach to strengthening national capacities for cancer care and treatment. Cancer is one of the fastest growing diseases in Panama. The Panamanian Government requested to join the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative in June 2023, a process which led to today’s Memorandum of Understanding.

Through Rays of Hope, the IAEA will support Panama with a comprehensive strategy for improving cancer care and treatment. This includes providing assistance the National Oncology Institute and the Ciudad de la Salud Hospital in Panama City and supporting a new oncology centre in the Chiriquí region. The IAEA will provide a new linear accelerator (LINAC) for Chiriquí, enabling the use of novel radiotherapy techniques to treat cancer patients. The Agency will also provide two mammography units as well as training and capacity building in medical physics, nuclear medicine, radiology, radiotherapy, radiation oncology and nutrition to enhance cancer care.

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Update 270 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Rivne nuclear power plant had to temporarily reduce its power output Wednesday, amid heightened military activity near all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plant sites in recent days, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

As part of their ongoing efforts to assess and report on nuclear safety and security, IAEA staff stationed at Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants (NPPs)—Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs—as well as the Zaporizhzhia NPP (ZNPP) and the Chornobyl site—have reported significant military activity in recent days.

The Rivne NPP reduced the power of one unit Wednesday morning at the request of the grid operator, as a precautionary step due to an air attack. Later in the morning, the affected unit returned to nominal full capacity.

At the ZNPP, where the general situation remains precarious on the frontline of the conflict, the IAEA team reported multiple explosions occurring each day, including some at both near and medium distances from the plant.

In Chornobyl, the IAEA team was informed that drones have been spotted flying over the exclusion zone for the past two months. On 14 January, at least two drones flew close to the industrial area of the site. The team also reported hearing gunfire in the vicinity.

The team at Khmelnytskyy NPP was forced to shelter at their residence on 15 January due to air raid alarms. The team at the South Ukraine NPP was informed about recent drone sightings as close as 5 kilometres from the site.

“These ongoing threats continue to jeopardize the nuclear safety and security of nuclear power plants,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “Our presence is crucial to monitoring and reporting on such activities. No one stands to gain from attacks on nuclear facilities, and indifference to these dangers is not an option.”

As the IAEA continues to analyse observations and information gathered during its recent missions to Ukraine’s electrical substations following attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure, challenges with external power supplies persist at the ZNPP. The plant’s last remaining 330-kilovolt (kV) power line was disconnected for several hours on 12 January for maintenance. Meanwhile, the IAEA team was informed that repairs to the voltage stabilizer for the ZNPP’s 750-kV power line—previously disconnected due to the activation of a protection mechanism—were completed, and it was successfully reconnected on 31 December.

Additionally, the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to ZNPP (ISAMZ) team was informed about the maintenance of several of the reactor safety systems.  Maintenance activities were carried out on safety trains in unit 2 and unit 6, and work has commenced on a safety train in unit 4 and on one of the emergency diesel generators (EDGs) that are designed to provide on-site power, in case of a total loss of off-site power.

Despite the challenges from nearby ongoing military activity, the IAEA team has continued to conduct regular walkdowns across the ZNPP site over the past week. They visited the main control room of each unit and made note of staffing levels, checked fuel levels in the EDGs at unit 6, and witnessed the change of the spent fuel pool cooling pump from one safety train to another in unit 6. Furthermore, the team visited the cooling pond area, including in the vicinity of both cooling towers – one of which sustained damage in August 2024 – an area where the team was previously denied access. ISAMZ also performed a walkdown of the turbine hall of unit 2 and was once again denied access to the western part of the hall. The team also visited the temporary on-site emergency crisis centre, where they discussed the draft emergency preparedness and response plan, as well as the planned emergency response exercise to be held in 2025.

Separately, the IAEA continues to deliver on its comprehensive assistance programme to support nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. On 2 January, the Agency marked its 100th delivery of equipment and supplies with a delivery of an individual monitoring system to the state operator Energoatom. Moreover, in the past three weeks, 11 additional deliveries were made to nine different organizations in Ukraine comprising of radiation protection- and nuclear security-related equipment, diesel generators, IT equipment, as well as medical equipment and supplies. The funding for these deliveries was provided by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom. With these deliveries, over €15 million worth of equipment and supplies reached Ukraine since the start of the armed conflict.

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Revealing Malta’s Cultural Heritage

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The IAEA is supporting experts from Heritage Malta in the use of x-ray technology to understand and preserve valuable ancient artefacts without damaging them. 

This video was first published in November 2022.

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Warner Bros. Discovery Launches In Partnership With IAEA: ‘Good To Know’, First Nuclear Science Films On Discovery Channel

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

‘Good To Know’, a new educational videos series explaining how nuclear science can help solve global issues, is being launched today on Discovery Channel, as part of a new partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The films will air in over 30 countries, reaching 44 million households across the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region. 

This first tranche of five short films, made by the IAEA video team in conjunction with the Warner Bros. Discovery editorial team, will explain in simple terms how radiation can safely be used to solve some of the world’s most pressing global challenges. These include:

  • Microplastics in the ocean (filmed in Monaco/Global)
  • The growing cancer burden (filmed in India)
  • Food insecurity (filmed in Austria/Global)
  • Water scarcity in the face of climate change (filmed in Austria/Costa Rica)
  • Industrial contamination (filmed in Czech Republic)

Each of these films is around one minute long and will play as part of Discovery’s ‘Good To Know’, a new educational videos series about the benefits of nuclear science and technology, both on television and online. 

Future films to be included in the series will continue to investigate how nuclear science can help development, particularly in the light of climate change, such as by measuring how coastal regions sequester carbon, or how the oceans are becoming more acidic, or how pest insects can be controlled without chemicals. The films will also highlight more details on key IAEA programmes to battle plastic pollution, drought and hunger.

The films are made in conjunction with the IAEA’s twelve nuclear sciences and applications laboratories, a unique feature in the United Nations. The laboratories develop and share nuclear techniques with countries around the world. Watch a three-minute film about the labs here.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: “People may know us as the nuclear watchdog, helping enhance safety, security and safeguards in places like Fukushima, Iran, Ukraine. But not enough people know of the amazing potential nuclear science has to make tangible differences in people’s lives – helping farmers grow better crops, cancer patients get better treatment, governments understand and protect key natural areas. As the terrible effects of climate change become more obvious to people around the world, it is important for the public to also know there is hope. Science, as always, offers solutions to many of our main challenges.”

Najat Mokhtar, Head of IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, agreed: “I am delighted to see ours labs’ the vital research being shared on the respected Discovery Channel. Science is a vital force for good in the world, and nuclear science offers so many incredible innovations to help countries meet their development goals.”

Jamie Cooke, Executive Vice President and Managing Director Central Europe, Middle East and Turkey said: “We are thrilled that our viewers will now get the opportunity to learn more about how nuclear science is being used in innovative ways to improve our lives and advance the environmental sustainability agenda. We consider it our duty to leverage the voice, storytelling strength and expertise we have, to cast light and tell the right stories that will positively impact our communities and viewers. It’s part of our Social Good Strategy, and we want to use our media for good.”

About the International Atomic Energy Agency

Widely known as the world’s “Atoms for Peace and Development” organization within the United Nations family, the IAEA is the international centre for cooperation in the nuclear field. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. For more information, visit IAEA.org.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of branded content across television, film, streaming and gaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.