VIENNA, June 10 — Global interest in nuclear power is surging as more countries pursue nuclear energy programmes to strengthen long-term national energy security and drive economic growth.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) senior nuclear power engineer for infrastructure development Matthew van Sickle said that interest in nuclear power has grown sharply in recent years, fuelled by increasing demand for secure, reliable, and clean electricity supply, climate change mitigation, and advances in reactor technology, particularly Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
IAEA data show that the number of member states pursuing nuclear power programmes has nearly doubled, from 27 in 2020 to 42 in 2025.
As of January this year, nearly 70 countries, the majority of them emerging economies in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, are either pursuing or exploring nuclear energy as part of their national development agenda.
Malaysia is among 28 countries currently in the decision-making phase, where governments are assessing the feasibility of embarking on nuclear power programmes, while countries like Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia have embarked on the second phase of project development.
"We are really seeing global interest in nuclear power rising. In the past three or four years, we have seen more interest than I have seen in the whole time.
“Almost every other week we get a request from a member state for support and infrastructure development across the globe," he told the media during a seminar.
Earlier this week, IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said that global interest in nuclear energy remains resilient despite geopolitical uncertainties and recent armed attacks on civilian nuclear installations in conflict zones.
"We do not see, for now at least, a direct influence between these episodes, which are highly regrettable, and the medium- and long-term planning of many countries in the area of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
“There is a very strong trend (of new countries embarking on nuclear power programmes), which is driven by other factors, which have to do with energy security, technological considerations, and so on,” he said.
Meanwhile, van Sickle emphasised that new countries embarking on nuclear power programmes must demonstrate strong political will, long-term national commitment, and robust safety and regulatory frameworks to ensure the safe and secure deployment of nuclear energy.
"The agency is always here to support our member states, but really the commitment for nuclear power is a national commitment, and it requires investment, not only in the financing and the funding part, but also on the political side and the social side," he said.
van Sickle also addressed the misconception that SMRs offer a shortcut to developing nuclear power.
"There is this kind of sense that an SMR is somehow a shortcut to nuclear power. But for us, it is nuclear power, which requires special considerations regardless of reactor size.
"You need the same infrastructure, the same regulatory framework, and the same safety culture," he said.
To support countries just embarking on nuclear programmes, the IAEA established a three-phase Milestones Approach in 2007, serving as a roadmap to guide member states in developing safe, secure, and sustainable nuclear programmes.
