Q1 2025 Special Section - Nuclear Renaissance

Nuclear energy has staged an unexpected comeback to the public debate in the recent years. Today, after many years of muted or negative growth, electricity demand is set to significantly increase over time, driven by Generative AI, the revival of domestic manufacturing and the electrification of the economy. While the adoption of renewables has increased, their intermittent nature has also introduced greater volatility into the electricity system, highlighting the need for stable, baseload power. In many ways, nuclear energy aligns well with future system requirements.

Previous efforts to revive nuclear programmes, including in the UK, have been derailed by spiralling costs and delays, eventually leading to the cancellation of high-profile projects, which struggle to find financial backers.

In this special section, we will analyse the facts and prospects for the upcoming Nuclear Renaissance, and assess the impact for our coverage universe. We conclude that existing nuclear assets remain the most attractive option, while greenfield projects continue to face significant technical hurdles and are currently uncompetitive relative to renewables and gas-fired power. However, with direct government involvement in project financing, new nuclear could potentially achieve cost competitiveness with gas. Using the UK electricity system as a case study, we illustrate how state-backed nuclear could play a meaningful role, highlighting that technological diversity contributes to lower overall system costs.

Download the full Special section below.

Q1 2025 Special Section - Nuclear Renaissance.pdf

Download PDF • 402KB