ThePathtoaNewEraforNuclearEnergyTheIEAexaminesthefullspectrumofenergyissuesincludingoil,gasandcoalsupplyanddemand,renewableenergytechnologies,electricitymarkets,energyefficiency,accesstoenergy,demandsidemanagementandmuchmore.Throughitswork,theIEAadvocatespoliciesthatwillenhancethereliability,affordabilityandsustainabilityofenergyinits32Membercountries,13Associationcountriesandbeyond.Thispublicationandanymapincludedhereinarewithoutprejudicetothestatusoforsovereigntyoveranyterritory,tothedelimitationofinternationalfrontiersandboundariesandtothenameofanyterritory,cityorarea.Source:IEA.InternationalEnergyAgencyWebsite:www.iea.orgIEAMembercountries:AustraliaAustriaBelgiumCanadaCzechRepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyJapanKoreaLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMexicoNetherlandsNewZealandNorwayPolandPortugalSlovakRepublicSpainSwedenSwitzerlandRepublicofTürkiyeUnitedKingdomUnitedStatesTheEuropeanCommissionalsoparticipatesintheworkoftheIEAIEAAssociationcountries:ArgentinaBrazilChinaEgyptIndiaIndonesiaKenyaMoroccoSenegalSingaporeSouthAfricaThailandUkraineINTERNATIONALENERGYAGENCYThePathtoaNewEraforNuclearEnergyAbstractPAGE|1IEA.CCBY4.0.AbstractThePathtoaNewEraforNuclearEnergyisanewreportbytheInternationalEnergyAgencythatlooksattheopportunitiesfornuclearenergytoaddressenergysecurityandclimateconcerns–andatcriticalelementsneededtopursuetheseopportunities,includingpolicies,innovationandfinancing.Nuclearenergyisawell-establishedtechnologythathasprovidedelectricityandheattoconsumersforwellover50yearsbuthasfacedanumberofchallengesinrecentyears.However,nuclearenergyismakingastrongcomeback,withrisinginvestment,newtechnologyadvancesandsupportivepoliciesinover40countries.Electricitydemandisprojectedtogrowstronglyoverthenextdecades,includingfromdatacentres,furtherunderpinningtheimportanceofhavingsufficientnewsourcesofstablelow-emissionselectricity.Despitetherisingmomentumbehindnuclearenergy,variouschallengesneedtobeovercomefornucleartoplayanimportantroleinthefutureenergylandscape.Thisreportreviewsthestatusofnuclearenergyaroundtheworldandexploresrisksrelatedtopolicies,constructionandfinancing.Itprovidesthelong-termoutlookfornuclearpowerinlightofpoliciesandambitions,quantifyingnuclearpowercapacityandtherelatedinvestmentovertheperiodto2050.Thereportshowsthatwithcontinuedinnovation,sufficientgovernmentsupportandnewbusinessmodels,smallmodularreactorscanplayapivotalroleinenablinganewerafornuclearenergy.Ithighlightspotentialmechanismstounlockfinancingwhilealsoemphasisingthecriticalimportanceofadequateplanningfortherequiredworkforceandsupplychains.ThePathtoaNewEraforNuclearEnergyForewordPAGE|2IEA.CCBY4.0.ForewordSomefouryearsago,theInternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)announcedthatnuclearenergywaswellpositionedtomakeacomebackafteradifficultperiodfollowingthe2011GreatEastJapanEarthquakeandtheaccidentattheFukushimaDaiichiplant.Today,thiscomebackisclearlyunderwayandnuclearnowstandsonthecuspofanewera,owingtoacombinationofgovernmentpolicies,technologicalinnovationandprivatesectorinterest.Atthesametime,severalmajorchallengesstillneedtobeovercomeonthepathtothisnewera.ThisnewIEAspecialreportprovidesacomprehensiveassessmentofthesituation,examininghowthesechallengescanbeovercomeincountriesthatseeitaspartoftheirfutureenergymix.Itisimportanttonote,however,thatsomecountries,includingsomeIEAMem...