Nuclear reactors worldwide generated 2667 TWh of electricity in 2024, beating the previous record high of 2660 TWh which was set back in 2006, according to World Nuclear Performance Report 2025.

In this edition Jonathan Cobb, author of the report, outlines the key findings of the latest edition of the annual World Nuclear Association publication, which include the dominance of Asia in terms of new reactor capacity over the past decade.

There is also clear evidence that reactor performance does not decline with age - the reverse can be true with modernisation, uprates and long-term operation programmes helping capacity factors reach an average of 83% across the global fleet (the capacity factor is a percentage of what the output would have been if a reactor had operated at full capacity for every moment of a year).

Jonathan, who is senior programme lead, climate, at World Nuclear Association, also considers how likely it is that the record is going to be broken again in the next few years.

Key links to find out more:

World Nuclear News
World Nuclear Performance Report

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alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

Andy White, senior vice president of Energy and Environment International for Amentum, talks about his background and the work Amentum is doing in the UK and across Europe in the nuclear sector.

Among the topics covered:

* The change of attitudes which means that the future decommissioning process is included in the planning stages for new nuclear (and how that should reduce the number of 'surprises' when decommissioning plants)

* The company's work on new nuclear in the UK at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C and SMRs and operations in Poland, France, the Czech Republic as well as Norway and the Netherlands

* The benefits of bringing in technology, skills and people from other sectors (and countries) to help with what looks like being a forthcoming rapid expansion of new nuclear.

* Plus Amentum's nuclear fusion work, including at ITER, and the general outlook for nuclear, and how financing and regulation can help industry meet the demand for new capacity

We also bring you Claire Maden's conversation with Nima Ashkeboussi, vice president government relations and communications at Global Laser Enrichment, earlier this year at the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle conference in Canada.

In it he talks about the company's laser enrichment technology, explaining how it works and the big plans the company has - including 30-years' worth of work relating to the US Department of Energy's 200,000+ tonnes of depleted uranium. GLE's plan is to re-enrich this, so cleaning up a stranded asset and in the process providing a new source of fresh fuel.

GLE began a large-scale enrichment demonstration programme in May, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted for review the company's licensing application for a new facility to be built at Paducah, Kentucky earlier this month.

Key links to find out more:

World Nuclear News
Amentum
GLE
GLE submits full application for laser enrichment facility licence
Amentum, Multiconsult to assess Norway's nuclear options
Amentum awarded Sizewell C project management contract

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Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

Nuclear energy lawyer Vince Zabielski, partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, has advised on numerous nuclear energy projects across the world, including the UAE nuclear new-build programme as well as those in Turkey, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.

A mechanical engineer before moving into law, he tells host Alex Hunt about the haircut that launched his career in nuclear, his switch to the law, and explains the important role played by nuclear energy lawyers which is, he says, essentially "problem solving", for example finding a path forward on risk allocation to allow what are giant projects to go ahead.

Based in Pillsbury's London office, Zabielski talks about the recent announcements from the UK about Sizewell C funding and explains the benefits of the Regulated Asset Base financing system which is being used there, rather than the Contracts for Difference system used at the Hinkley Point C project and explains why he hopes the RAB system will be adopted elsewhere in Europe.

He also talks about the challenge ahead to meet the ambitious goals for future nuclear energy capacity, including how regulators can help. And he explains why he'd encourage young people to consider a career in nuclear power.

Also in this episode, in the news round-up, Claire Maden reports on the UK Government taking the Final Investment Decision on Sizewell C - which will feature two EDF EPRs with a capacity of 3.2GW - and the finalising of the project shareholdings. She also outlines the key findings of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's Small Modular Reactor Dashboard, which has identified 127 different SMR designs around the world.

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
Sizewell C gets final go-ahead decision
There are now 127 different SMR designs, finds NEA report
The NEA SMR Digital Dashboard
Pillsbury: Vince Zabielski

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Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

The World Bank has announced that it is no longer going to be excluding nuclear energy-related projects from its lending criteria. In this episode you can hear how World Bank Group President Ajay Banga and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi outlined the logic behind the policy switch.

It came as they announced their two organisations’ agreement to work together to support countries which choose new nuclear as part of their development strategies.

Both are clear this was an important moment, and World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León, joins us to explain the significance of the change from the global industry’s standpoint.

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News

World Bank and IAEA backing new nuclear for development

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Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

There are big expectations for large-scale growth in nuclear energy capacity over the coming years. That's good news for established technology providers and their partners. But new capacity in new locations means that there are going to be big opportunities (and challenges) emerging. This was the focus for World Nuclear Association’s first World Nuclear Supply Chain event, held in Poland.

There were more than 300 attendees from 27 countries, including government and industry delegations from Canada, China, Japan, Poland, South Korea and Sweden. As well as extensive networking opportunities there was a succession of high profile speakers taking part in panel sessions.

World Nuclear News's Warwick Pipe was there and reports on the event.

This episode features, in order of appearance,

• Sama Bilbao y León, World Nuclear Association
• Vakis Ramany, EDF
• Greg Thede, Aecon
• Gary Rose, AtkinsRéalis
• Jon Franke, Ontario Power Generation
• Janne Mokka, Fortum
• Hiroyuki Goto, Kansai Electric Power Co
• Gareth Vaughan, Amentum
• Pawel Gajda, Polish Ministry of Industry
• Rafal Kasprów, Orlen Synthos Green Energy
• Carl Berglof, Swedish government's National Nuclear New Build Coordinator
• Andy Fry, GE Vernova Hitachi
• Cosmin Ghita, Nuclearelectrica
• Ruth Todd, Rolls-Royce SMR
• Marc Tannenbaum, EPRI
• Shuo Kan, China Nuclear Power Engineering
• Vivek Sharma, Adani
• Nora Signor, EDF
• Gary Wolski, Curtiss-Wright
• Jeremy Harrison, Government of Saskatchewan

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News

World Nuclear Supply Chain conference

Polish supply chain gears up for country's first nuclear project

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Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

US President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders titled Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy and Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with the goal of "re-establishing the United States as the global leader in nuclear energy".

The aim is to increase US nuclear energy capacity from 100GW to 400GW by 2050, including the Department of Energy (DOE) prioritising work "with the nuclear energy industry to facilitate 5 gigawatt of power uprates to existing nuclear reactors and have 10 new large reactors with complete designs under construction by 2030".

Explanations of each of the executive orders was given as they were presented to the president to add his signature in the Oval Office. In this episode we play pretty much the whole of that event. As well as the US President, you’ll hear from Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who is also Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joe Dominguez, CEO of Constellation Energy, Maria Korsnick, CEO of the Nuclear energy Institute, Jacob DeWitte, founder and CEO of Oklo and Scott Nolan of uranium enrichment company General Matter.

World Nuclear News’s Claire Maden drills into more of the detail of the announcements, and Jonathan Cobb, senior programme lead, climate, at World Nuclear Association then assesses the broader implications of the US adopting the goal of quadrupling its nuclear energy capacity.

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News

Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base

Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy

Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Email newsletter:
Sign up to the World Nuclear News daily or weekly news round-ups

Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

In the second of a two-part special report from the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2025 conference held in Canada, Claire Maden reports on the opportunities and challenges facing players across the entire fuel sector.

There is the aim to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, shared by many governments, businesses and financial institutions. But will there be the necessary fuel available if that goal is to be reached?

Among the issues covered in this episode are developments in the uranium enrichment sector and the challenges faced by transporters of nuclear materials. It also includes discussion of innovative technologies, and the outlook for nuclear fuel markets.

This episode features:

Christo Liebenberg, LIS Technologies CEO and COO
John Donelson, Centrus Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
John-Paul Jones, Urenco Head of Commercial and Market Intelligence
Jean-Luc Palayer, Orano USA President and CEO
Eileen Supko, Energy Resources International President and World Nuclear Transport Institute North American Representative
Kurtis Hinz, TAM International President and CEO
Paul Chan, Clean Core Thorium Energy Chief Technology Officer
Iftikhar Haque, Terrestrial Energy Vice President, Nuclear Supply Chain
Micah Hackett, Kairos Power Vice President Fuels and Materials
Tom Brookmire, Dominion Energy Manager, Nuclear Fuel Procurement
Lourdes Guzmán, ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas Uranium Supply Manager
Chris Opperman, C5 Capital Operating Partner
Jonathan Hinze, UxC, LLC President
Sama Bilbao y León, World Nuclear Association Director General

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2025
'Great opportunities ahead' for fuel cycle

Email newsletter:
Sign up to the World Nuclear News daily or weekly news round-ups

Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

In the first of a two-part special report from the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2025 conference held this month in Canada, Claire Maden reports on the opportunities and challenges facing players across the entire fuel sector.

There is the aim to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, shared by many governments, businesses and financial institutions. But will there be the necessary fuel available if that goal is to be reached?

Among the issues raised were the impact of trade tariffs, transport issues and wider geopolitics. They will all have an impact on an industry which spans the globe.

This episode features contributions from:

Sama Bilbao y León, World Nuclear Association Director General
Nicolle Butcher, Ontario Power Generation President and CEO
Tim Gitzel, Cameco President and CEO
Sashi Davies, Boss Energy Ltd Strategic Advisor
Tammy Van Lambalgen, Orano Canada Inc Vice President, Chief Corporate Officer
Seitzhan Zhanybekov, Kazatomprom Managing Director, Sales
Lisa Aitken, Cameco Vice President, Marketing
Andrew Wong, RBC Capital Markets Equity Research Analyst
Anna Bryndza, UxC LLC Executive Vice President
Nikko Collida, WMC Energy Deputy Head of Nuclear Fuel
Brad Beatty, ConverDyn Commercial Manager
Steffen Asser, Axpo Power AG Senior Supply Chain Manager

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2025
'Great opportunities ahead' for fuel cycle

Email newsletter:
Sign up to the World Nuclear News daily or weekly news round-ups

Contact info:
alex.hunt@world-nuclear.org

Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production