Advanced Nuclear

The Issue

Nuclear power is a reliable and low-carbon technology that can help the world reduce emissions while providing abundant energy. However, deploying nuclear power in emerging markets faces multiple barriers, including adequate financing.

Relevance

Most global energy demand growth in the coming decades will be in Asia and other emerging markets. Advanced nuclear designs will be especially attractive to meet this need, while many countries are actively preparing to adopt the technology. The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank have lifted decades-old nuclear bans to support this critical infrastructure investment in emerging markets. Other development finance institutions may follow their lead soon.

Our Approach

We start with the data. We map the global market for nuclear by estimating future energy demand and scoring all countries on their nuclear readiness. This work provides evidence to make our case for why nuclear financing will be needed in emerging markets. We also track nuclear cooperation and construction agreements signed between emerging markets and Russia, China, or the US. Then we provide specific policy ideas how to

• Prepare US agencies to support nuclear projects and effectively compete against other nuclear vendors in emerging markets.
• Remove nuclear bans at development agencies to allow them to engage on the technology and eventually finance projects.

Our objective is to unlock financing for nuclear power so a wider range of countries have access to firm, clean energy sources to power their economies and create jobs.

Image credit: Oklo.