Fifteen countries meet in Paris to revive nuclear power

An international conference aimed at boosting the revival of nuclear energy is started in Paris under the auspices of the OECD and the Swedish government.

About 15 ministers from pro-nuclear countries are participating in the second edition of ‘Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2024’, which examines concrete ways to meet global commitments to increase nuclear power production to combat climate change.

Tripling of capacity needed

According to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), global nuclear capacity would have to triple by 2050 to meet carbon neutrality targets, combining existing, new-generation, and small modular reactors (SMRs). Last year at COP28 in Dubai, some 20 countries, including the United States, France, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, pledged to pursue this goal.

What is new this year is that Sweden, one of the European countries with a strong commitment to renewable energy, is co-hosting the conference. As such, Sweden is one of the countries that has decided to restart the construction of reactors to provide stable electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“There is an opportunity here that, if not seized, will make it difficult for us to solve the difficult equation” between “high climate targets” and “economic growth,” said Ebba Busch, the Swedish deputy prime minister responsible for energy.

Comeback

Nuclear power fell out of favor after the 2011 disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant. Last year, for example, 9% of the world’s electricity was nuclear-generated. That is in stark contrast with the 1996 peak, when 17.5% of the electricity generated on the planet was nuclear.

While the share of solar and wind energy has risen to 15.9%, fossil sources such as oil, coal, and gas still make up more than 75% of the mix. But today, nuclear power, a low-CO2 emitting energy source, is experiencing a resurgence driven by the need for climate and energy security.

In Europe, for example, an alliance of 12 countries, including France, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Czech Republic, has set a goal of 150 GW installed capacity in the EU by 2050—compared to 100 today.

The new Belgian government, spurred by Bart De Wever (N-VA), would also like to focus largely on nuclear energy again, while the Flemish government is also exploring the possibility of investing in nuclear energy.

In mid-2024, 403 nuclear reactors were active, with a total capacity of 367 GW, 30 units less than the peak reached in 2002.

The market is still dominated by Russia

But restarting the construction of nuclear reactors is not only expensive; it also presents many challenges. If nuclear power plants cannot run as much as possible, they become impossible to operate due to the high fixed costs, not to mention the high cost of storing radioactive waste.

Last year, for example, only five new reactors with a total capacity of 5 GW were commissioned worldwide, while five units were shut down (-6GW), a net decrease of 1 GW.

Most of the ongoing construction (59 reactors) is being carried out by China for its domestic market. And although the Chinese are the largest manufacturers of nuclear reactors, the market is still dominated by Russia.

Currently, 26 Russian-made reactors are under construction (in Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Slovenia, Bangladesh, and even China). At the same time, the Russians also have a key role in providing nuclear fuel-related services, including uranium mining, enrichment, and fuel assembly manufacturing.

The United States and France are also currently betting heavily on nuclear power again, building several new plants.

According to the IEA, the OECD’s energy agency, the world’s nuclear capacity should more than double by 2050. “Just to maintain the current capacity, we would already have to put 10 reactors into service per year,” i.e., a doubling from 2023, which is “industrial unlikely,” says Mycle Schneider, coordinator of a critical report on the state of the nuclear industry.