A Global Playbook for Nuclear Energy Development in Embarking Countries

Executive Summary 

Mitigating climate change, improving energy security, and creating the conditions for social progress through sustainable economic growth are interrelated challenges. Nuclear energy can play a pivotal role in addressing all of them. Growing recognition of this potential presents a unique opportunity to craft a global strategy for deploying new nuclear technologies. But to make impact at required scale, nuclear energy would need to be deployed alongside other clean energy solutions at a pace and scale of many tens of gigawatts (GW) per year from now until 2050. Much of this deployment will occur in countries that currently do not have any commercial reactors, referred to as “embarking countries” by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Any approach to scaling nuclear energy will need a comprehensive strategy to help these countries chart their individual nuclear journeys.

This playbook is a collaboration of the EFI Foundation, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Clean Air Task Force. It outlines pathways for the responsible, sustainable, and effective development of new nuclear projects and industries in embarking countries. Throughout, the playbook emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to scaling nuclear energy, considering the unique challenges and opportunities specific to each country, and highlights the role that new international institutions could play in supporting a global nuclear expansion.

One of the main drivers behind this effort is the recognition that, to meet the world’s growing energy demand while combating climate change, massive electrification of all sectors of the world economy is essential. Nuclear energy could be a major source of abundant, continually available, zero-carbon electricity and thermal energy to meet this demand. It could be a significant contributor to industrial decarbonization, replacing fossil fuels in the production of high-quality heat—a new application of nuclear energy in both embarking countries and others with established nuclear programs. Moreover, its compact spatial requirements and relatively lower life cycle material usage make it a favorable option for increased energy supply in a crowded world. Despite these advantages, only a limited number of countries are currently engaged in nuclear power projects, while numerous developing nations aspire to harness nuclear energy. However, nuclear energy has been marked with a history of high costs, frequent cost and schedule overruns, regulatory uncertainties that discourage investment, a diminishing skilled workforce due to prolonged underinvestment as well as the continual concerns surrounding nonproliferation and nuclear security and spent fuel management. If new nuclear is to be a feasible option in the future energy portfolios of any country – and especially embarking countries – all of these challenges must be meaningfully addressed and at scale.

Although the playbook draws heavily from best practices observed over multiple decades of experience with civilian nuclear energy development around the world, it is not intended to be prescriptive. The playbook is organized around six key dimensions of capability and capacity building that are imperative to any successful new nuclear development:  

• Project execution and capability building 

• Regulatory system development 

• Project bankability and finance 

• Nuclear nonproliferation and security 

• Spent nuclear fuel management 

• Workforce development

We also offer cross-cutting themes, challenges, and perspectives. Our aim, recognizing that embarking countries will have different priorities, capabilities, and needs, is to identify core principles and options that, in aggregate, offer pathways to responsibly developing nuclear programs that align with broader national goals.

Reflecting our view of the potential importance of new international institutions, the playbook devotes considerable attention to the question of what form these institutions might take and what benefits they might provide—not only to embarking countries but also in nations that already have operating nuclear plants. Embarking countries can make an especially strong case in calling for the formation of these institutions. Recognizing that this may take some time, however, the playbook also offers recommendations for what can be done in the near term, even without new institutions. Indeed, much progress can be made now, while additional supportive institutional infrastructure is developed collaboratively in parallel.

The playbook’s recommendations apply to any nuclear technology that can meet prudent finance, regulatory, and nonproliferation models. They emphasize the importance of tailoring strategies to individual countries’ unique contexts, to ensure responsible nuclear energy expansion. The report highlights the potential for shared benefits and synergies between embarking countries and existing nuclear power nations as they work toward scaling nuclear energy and fostering a robust global commercial ecosystem. There will be substantial synergies and shared benefits between embarking countries and existing nuclear power nations as both invest in building scale, developing innovative, harmonized regulatory approaches, and increasing financial confidence. Taking these initiatives together, successful execution of this playbook can build confidence in the responsible scale-up of this technology as a necessary and beneficial global energy solution.