The Road to Nuclear Energy Enlightenment

Over 20 years ago, I presented a paper at the WNA Symposium in London entitled “Fueling the Future: A New Paradigm – Assuring Uranium Supplies in an Abnormal Market.” At the time, nuclear energy was experiencing a renaissance of sorts, and the point of my paper was to examine whether the industry was prepared to fuel this expansion. While most in the nuclear industry shared the sentiment that nuclear was the future, the intervening years have cast doubt on this prognostication. Things are dramatically different today.

It has not been a smooth path to nuclear energy enlightenment, as developments have occurred that called its future into question. First was the Fukushima accident in 2011 and the retrenchment in nuclear power capacity that resulted. Countries halted or even abandoned their nuclear power programs because of Fukushima. This setback was followed by the push for renewables subsidized by governments worldwide. The adequacy of future nuclear fuel supplies no longer seemed to be an issue as prices in all three front-end markets were under notable downward pressure due to an oversupply situation.

Over the past five years, nuclear energy’s fortunes have dramatically changed due to a combination of factors. These include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along with the emergence of artificial intelligence and its associated massive demand for continuous, environmentally friendly energy. Moreover, the passage of time has benefited nuclear energy as the limitations of renewable energy have become apparent and new reactor technology has been developed. At the same time, there has been a dramatic change in attitudes toward nuclear power on the part of governments and individuals. We will examine these factors below.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have had a negative impact on the future of nuclear energy since Russia is the world’s leader in the export of nuclear fuel and reactors. However, the invasion raised concerns about energy security to a new level, as many European countries have sought to diversify and shift from prior dependence on energy from Russia. The prospect that Russia may not be a reliable supplier of nuclear fuel led to increased investments in enrichment technology with associated government support. The fact that the war is now four years old, coupled with the war in Iran and the associated energy issues there, means that energy supply reliability is more important than ever.

Artificial Intelligence

The most visible development boosting nuclear energy has been the rise of artificial intelligence and the concomitant increase in electricity demand. This has brought high-tech companies into the nuclear arena and with them large sums of capital to fund nuclear power expansion and associated political clout to support nuclear energy growth. These companies require large amounts of continuous, environmentally friendly electricity for which nuclear power is the preferred choice. Further, high-tech companies have been willing to embrace new reactor technologies, as these not only have increased safety features but can better integrate with their need for more decentralized power sources. Equally important is the urgency that they place on getting this new technology up and running.

Limitations of Renewable Energy

While still popular, renewable energy’s limitations have become more apparent as it has become necessary to replace baseload electricity generation – coal, natural gas, and even nuclear, especially in Europe, where nuclear’s contribution has been halved from its 1990 level. The poster child for this reduction is Germany, which shuttered all its reactors in the wake of Fukushima. In addition to moving away from environmental targets, Germany’s abandonment of nuclear energy resulted in an economic downturn when suitable replacement power could not be found. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen has admitted that it was a “strategic mistake” to move away from nuclear energy in its pursuit of low-emissions power. The limitations associated with renewable energy have also been amplified by the increased focus on the need for continuous, environmentally friendly electricity generation to power artificial intelligence.

New Reactor Technology

Over the past two decades, new reactor technologies and enhancements of previous technologies have emerged. There has been an increased focus on safety associated with fuel designs as the industry moves toward deploying small, advanced, and micro reactors. These SAMRs also provide greater flexibility to meet grid requirements and combine with renewables to meet emissions reduction targets, allowing nuclear to expand its geographical footprint. Microreactors are allowing nuclear energy to reach new frontiers in space and the sea.

Increased Acceptance of Nuclear Energy

Underpinning these positive changes is a greater acceptance of nuclear energy by the public and governments. In addition to the European Union’s positive stance, many individual countries in Europe, especially Scandinavian countries, are re-embracing nuclear energy or are giving serious thought about adding it to their electricity generation mix. Nuclear energy has also seen a change in fortunes in Asia, with Japan restarting a number of its shuttered reactors including Unit 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which recently resumed commercial operation after spending over 15 years offline. South Korea has reversed a prior nuclear phase-out policy and has more recently vowed to accelerate the restart of reactors currently undergoing maintenance to shore up its energy security. Taiwan has also recently moved towards the potential reactivation of closed reactors with Taipower submitting a formal proposal in March that calls for returning the Maanshan nuclear power plant to service as soon as 2028.

In the U.S., the Trump administration has supported nuclear energy financially and by reducing and streamlining regulations for new reactor builds. On the state level, most governors have voiced support of nuclear energy, including the six governors comprising New England in the northeastern U.S. The popularity of nuclear energy has increased in Canada, which has seen a renewed interest in expanding nuclear capacity with Ontario Power Generation continuing to advance preparations on four SAMRs at the Darlington site while several other Canadian provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick are also considering SAMR deployment options.

All these positive developments for nuclear energy make the task of “fueling the future” more crucial than ever. While the uranium pricing regime is much improved over the past two decades or so and investments are being made to expand production in uranium, conversion, and enrichment, significant challenges remain. These issues relate to the magnitude of demand increases, especially if the ambitious growth targets are met, the movement away from Russian supplies in the West, and the new types of fuel needed to supply new reactor technologies. The promise of nuclear energy is greater than ever, but so are the fuel challenges.

This article was originally published in the April 27, 2026 issue of the Ux Weekly.