Why the shift to new nuclear signals something more profound than you might think

It’s not really about Net Zero, new nuclear is an admission that safe, secure, baseload energy is the sine qua non for modern, data-hungry, industrialised economies.

Nuclear power came of age in an era of crisis – the Cold War. It is reemerging as the world faces new geopolitical challenges, climate change, a battle for resources and the means to deliver the power that the world needs to drive its insatiable demand for data.

Not a week goes by without a major economy announcing bullish plans to build new reactors large or small. It’s certainly never dull nowadays in the race for new nuclear.

2025 – The year ambition turned to action and momentum

This year started with India unveiling ambitious plans to generate 100GW of nuclear energy by 2047 – an auspicious date – the centenary of the country’s independence.

This was followed by Italy, which in March, approved a plan to restart its nuclear power programme, reversing the anti-nuclear stance cemented by referendums in 1987 and 2011.

Last month, Belgium’s Federal parliament voted by a large majority to repeal a long-standing 22 year law for the phase-out of nuclear power and the ban on the construction of new nuclear capacity.

This was quickly followed by the Danish parliament’s approval of analysis on the potential use of nuclear following a 40 year restriction on its use.

Movement in Western Europe has been buttressed by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which are marching in lock-step with their continental cousins to back new nuclear with alacrity. Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland and Romania are all moving ahead with visionary new nuclear programmes.

Most importantly, the world’s largest economy – the US – is determined to make up for years of relative inertia on nuclear. Late May, President Trump announced four executive orders to quadruple U.S. nuclear energy production within 25 years, accelerate regulatory approvals, secure enriched uranium supplies, and address the surging energy demands of AI.

Moreover, it is not just about large-scale Gigawatt plants as this past week, the UK announced that Rolls-Royce is the preferred bidder to build the country’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) – a much awaited programme that could be a major export opportunity.

The British Government has pledged over £2.5 billion for the overall small modular reactor programme with plans underway for the new industry to support up to 3,000 skilled jobs and power around 3 million homes with clean, secure energy. The SMR announcement came at the same time as the Government backed the new Gigawatt-scale plant at Sizewell C – a clear signal of intent for new UK nuclear.

The myth of Net Zero as the sole driver of new nuclear

Over the past few years, the move towards new nuclear has been defined by decarbonisation as well as ‘energy security’.

This thinking was central to the British Energy Security Strategy (2022), which foresaw up to 24GW of new capacity by 2050. Now, the rush to new nuclear represents something more profound, and the need for the technology more urgent.

Global demand for data and AI-enabled economies are shifting the tectonic plates of contemporary energy systems.

With a global population of eight billion, countries are pivoting to nuclear because they recognize that the technology is the only energy source that can provide the vast amounts of the stable and secure, clean, baseload energy needed to sate rapidly growing energy demand driven by data and AI.

This goes beyond the nebulous concept of energy security – it is about the future trajectory of modern economies.

Steep demand curve

Recent research by the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that AI will require more electricity by 2030 than Japan uses today (e.g. 945 terawatt-hours TWh) with the electricity demand of data centres today set to double by the same timeline.

Alex de Vries-Gao, founder of the Digiconomist tech sustainability website, predicts that AI might account for nearly half of datacentre power usage by the end of this year alone.

There is no greater illustration of how advanced technologies are reshaping energy demand.

With over 7 billion smart phones globally able to access AI instantly (90% of the world’s population) the implications are profound.

Governments around the world are waking up to the scale of the data challenge.

Data is power and new nuclear programmes are evidence of the need for national renewal and strong self-sufficiency and security in energy. They are recognition that the energy systems of developed economies must change.

Outdated messaging

What has not caught up is the messaging around new nuclear. “Net Zero needs nuclear” as a campaign slogan of a few years ago went. While this might be the case, a more compelling argument for policy-makers, politicians and the public is that you, the economy and society around you will not be able to grow and integrate the demand for more data and AI without the always-on, clean energy that nuclear power provides.

It is incumbent upon the nuclear industry and those that communicate on behalf of the sector to be clear about the transformative potential new nuclear in all its forms could be to enable and enhance our data-led lives.

New nuclear should be seen through a broader prism of national economic renewal and modernisation. Not only will nuclear define our transition to Net Zero and deliver clean, secure energy to billions, it will also define how we live our lives and grow our economies into the middle and latter parts of the twenty-first century.