Nuclear power can help achieve global net zero emissions objectives by complementing renewable energy sources and ensuring reliable 24/7 energy supply. Maintaining existing nuclear power plants and building new ones will be essential to keeping low carbon energy capacity. Many countries are increasing their use of nuclear power to meet climate goals. Nuclear power can decarbonize electricity and heat production as well as produce hydrogen at scale and competitive costs. Replacing coal plants with nuclear plants can generate jobs and enable a transition away from coal.

1. Nuclear power plants
 Nuclear energy is key to achieving global net zero objectives, working in
partnership with renewable energy sources and other low carbon options, as part
of a sustainable energy system to decarbonize electricity and non-electric energy
production
 Nuclear power can help complement and integrate the expected large shares of
renewable generation by ensuring 24/7 energy supply reliability and
dispatchability.
 Maintaining low carbon generating capacity is essential, by safely extending the
operational lifetimes of existing nuclear power plants. In addition, around 550
GW of new nuclear capacity will be needed by 2050.
 Many nations opt for nuclear energy to meet their climate objectives, and uptake
by countries is increasing.

2. • Nuclear power is well suited to decarbonizing both electricity and heat production,
and it can also produce low carbon hydrogen on a massive scale and at an
increasingly competitive cost.
• While crucial to reaching net zero, the potential of nuclear energy for these non-
electric applications is not reflected in policies and investment decisions, which
risks delaying the development and deployment of these low carbon options.
• Nuclear power plants are well suited to replace coal fired power plants for low
emissions electricity generation. Nuclear power plants can substitute coal fired
boilers for district heating and industry
• Nuclear power is a significant driver of economic growth, generating jobs in many
economic sectors, and enabling a just transition away from coal.

3. Replacing coal fired power plants with nuclear
power plants
• Nuclear power plants also require less space on the plant site for fuel storage and
can store sufficient fuel for more than a year, compared to a few weeks for a coal
fired power plant, which thus requires frequent coal deliveries via road, rail or
water.
• Nuclear power plants need to also comply with nuclear safety standards and
licensing requirements, necessitating, in particular, specialized utility staff.
However, in those countries operating nuclear power plants this is already
standard practice.
• Nuclear power can help lower the costs of the overall electricity generating
system, by providing dispatchable power and reducing the need for grid
expansions and storage.

4. • Nuclear power also makes a significant contribution in the NZE, its output rising steadily by 40%
to 2030 and doubling by 2050, though its overall share of generation is below 10% in 2050. At its
peak in the early 2030s, global nuclear capacity additions reach 30 GW per year, five‐times the rate
of the past decade. In advanced economies, lifetime extensions for existing reactors are pursued in
many countries as they are one of the most cost‐effective sources of low‐carbon electricity (IEA,
2019), while new construction expands to about 4.5 GW per year on average from 2021 to 2035,
with an increasing emphasis on small modular reactors. Despite these efforts, the nuclear share of
total generation in advanced economies falls from 18% in 2020 to 10% in 2050.
• Two‐thirds of new nuclear power capacity in the NZE is built in emerging market and developing
economies mainly in the form of largescale reactors, where the fleet of reactors quadruples to 2050.
This raises the share of nuclear in electricity generation in those countries from 5% in 2020 to 7% in
2050 (as well as nuclear meeting 4% of commercial heat demand in 2050).

5. Global electricity generation by source in the NZE

6. • The resilience of the energy system relies on the robustness of individual
generation technologies, the grid infrastructure and demand side management.
• Net zero emission systems need built-in climate resiliency to guarantee the
security of energy supply.
• The nuclear sector is well prepared to face the challenges posed by climate
change including the risks of more frequent and more extreme weather events, and
has developed specific adaptation measures to mitigate these risks.
• While the frequency of weather related outages at nuclear power plants increased
over the last 30 years, total production losses were minor, with reduced losses per
event over the past decade.
• In global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and if
possible, to limit it to 1.5°C

7. • Nuclear power plants are not immune to changing weather conditions. Winter
storms and extreme cold remain important threats but other environmental
conditions such as floods, severe winds and lightning strikes also cause occasional
outages at nuclear power plants. However, the principal threat to nuclear power
plant operations is extreme heat, resulting in restrictions — regulatory, physical or
both — on the availability of cooling water.