What is Net Zero? What is the Role of Nuclear Power and Innovations?

Innovations in the nuclear industry will be critical for harnessing the full potential of nuclear power towards net zero goals. Novel reactor designs are entering the scene along with new modular manufacturing methods, all of which provide opportunities and challenges for deployment. The IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative is finding common ground among regulators, designers, operators and other stakeholders to support the safe and secure deployment of these advanced reactors, including small modular reactors.

However, the prospects for nuclear power depend not only on innovations in reactor technologies but also in manufacturing processes, the security of fuel supply, spent fuel solutions and other factors. There are already examples of how innovations, such as artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing, are paving the way for safe and sustainable solutions that could support cost savings and improve the economics of operating nuclear power plants.

While wind and solar are variable energy sources that depend on the weather and time of day, nuclear power plants are dispatchable sources of energy — they can adjust their output according to electricity demand. The potential for hybrid energy systems that unite nuclear and renewable power sources address the need for both grid flexibility and emission reduction, while optimizing financial resources. Additionally, the expanded use of nuclear power for non-electric applications, including district heating, hydrogen production, desalination and heat for industrial processes, offers options to reduce emissions.

In the quest for net zero, the IEA argues that nuclear is well positioned to help decarbonize electricity supply and that less nuclear power would make net zero ambitions more expensive and harder to achieve. To harness the power of nuclear energy in the transition to net zero, the IAEA launched the Atoms4NetZero initiative. The initiative seeks to inform policy makers and decision makers on the potential way forward for nuclear power as the reliable backbone of clean, affordable, resilient and more secure energy transitions. As of August 2023, there are 410 nuclear power reactors in operation totalling more than 368 000 MW(e) in installed capacity in 31 countries. In addition, 57 reactors are under construction in 17 countries, including 3 countries that are building their first nuclear reactors.

The global shift towards nuclear power was evident last year at the 2022 IAEA General Conference. A record number of 51 countries promoted nuclear power’s role in achieving their goals for climate change mitigation, energy security and sustainable development.

“The climate crisis and the energy crisis have prompted more countries to look to nuclear power as part of the solution, with public opinion polls all over the world showing an increasing acceptance rate for it,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in his statement to the Conference. “The unique attributes of nuclear power as a safe, secure and reliable energy source are crucial to the world’s green transition.”