IAEA: Global nuclear power generation capacity to reach 890GWe bu 2050

It has been revealed that the number of nuclear power plants in operation worldwide will reach up to 1,000 by 2050. As the demand for electricity in countries across the globe has surged due to the development of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, a significant export market has opened up for the domestic nuclear power industry, which has recently shown signs of revival. The nuclear power industry is actively pursuing nuclear power plant exports to Poland and the U.K., following the Czech Republic, and is seeking to dominate the global market.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday, if the nuclear power industry continues to ‘grow rapidly’ in the future, the global nuclear power generation capacity is expected to reach 890 GWe (gigawatt-electric) by 2050. Considering that the current generation capacity of 439 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide is 395 GWe, this indicates that up to 550 additional nuclear power plants will be built by 2050. As of last month, 344 nuclear power plants were already under consideration for construction worldwide.

In line with this trend, the domestic nuclear power industry is focusing on securing overseas nuclear power plant orders. President Yoon Suk Yeol will make an official visit to the Czech Republic from Thursday to Sunday. The primary goal of this visit is to form a nuclear power alliance between Korea and the Czech Republic, with a focus on supporting the construction of the 24 trillion won Dukovany nuclear power plant, ensuring smooth progress until the final contract. The public-private alliance 'Team Korea' also plans to pursue nuclear power plant construction orders in Poland, the U.K., and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The industry urgently needs to secure SMR competitiveness as the nuclear power plant market shifts towards small modular reactors (SMRs), which have smaller generation capacity and size than traditional large nuclear plants. “Relevant regulations must be established quickly to speed up the development of next-generation SMRs,” said Professor Jeong Dong-wook of the Energy Systems Engineering Department at Chung-Ang University.


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