The focus of this year’s IAEA Scientific Forum is Nuclear Power and the Clean Energy Transition. Leading scientists and experts from around the world will meet over two days to examine how nuclear power’s science-based solutions can play a pivotal role in paving the way for a sustainable future. This edition of the IAEA Bulletin will provide a closer look at the clean energy transition and how nuclear power fits in.
Advances in materials science and technology are helping to extend the lives of nuclear power plants, so countries can continue reaping their clean energy benefits.
Hearing the words ‘nuclear power’ usually conjures up images of huge power plants and cooling towers, but with small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors (MRs) starting to become a reality, the face and reach of nuclear power is changing.
Nuclear power combined with smart power grids — the two-way networks that connect producers to consumers and use new technologies to do so — can help countries transition to low carbon electricity sources and ensure reliable, stable and sustainable energy supplies.
Innovative financing and market policies are one way that investment in new build nuclear power plants is becoming more attractive, which may help to pave the way for a clean energy future.