International

Japan will need to replace as many as 14 of its nuclear reactors by the 2050s in order to meet its future energy demands, a recently released draft policy proposal states.

New developments in Sweden’s nuclear energy industry continue to make headlines. Last week, Swedish engineering services firm Studsvik submitted an application to build between 600 MWe and 1,400 MWe of new nuclear power capacity “at and around” its Nyköping Municipality headquarters. Separately, the Swedish government is looking to acquire a majority ownership stake in Videberg Kraft AB.

Today, there are 34 countries with operational nuclear power plants—but there are dozens more working on building a nuclear plant of their own. While progress on these projects inevitably ebbs and flows, broadly, momentum seems to be building on the international stage.

That growing momentum manifested last week in Kazakhstan’s announcement that it has officially partnered with Russia on a new nuclear power plant project. Prior to these new agreements, Russia, which borders Kazakhstan to the north, was already engaged in extensive preliminary work on the project.

Nuclear officials in Kenya want to engage with residents in Siaya County and keep them informed as the country moves toward building its first nuclear power plant.

The state-run Nuclear Power and Energy Agency said on May 23 it will conduct a “robust, transparent, and multilayered educational campaign to address all anxieties regarding safety, livelihoods, and land,” and that no infrastructure would be built without “broad, informed consent of the community.”

SMR-300 deployments, power plant names, trade missions, agreements between neighboring countries, and renewed interest in nuclear energy are among the notable developments that occurred internationally in the month of May.

Sweden-based advanced reactor developer Blykalla has applied to build a site in its home country that would feature six lead-cooled small modular reactors. The 330-MWe facility would house a half-dozen 55-MWe Sealer reactors, which the company said are designed for hyperscalers and energy-intensive industries.

The University of Missouri’s President’s Distinguished Lecture Series featured a talk by William D. Magwood IV, director general of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and a former NRC commissioner, on May 13 at the Columbia campus’s Bond Life Sciences Center. Magwood speech was titled “The Next Nuclear Energy Era: Opportunities and Challenges.”

At the Canadian Nuclear Association Conference (CNA2026) in Ottawa, Ontario, on April 29, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson announced that Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is developing a new Nuclear Energy Strategy for the country. The strategy, which is slated to be released by the end of this year, will be based on four objectives: 1) enabling new nuclear builds across Canada, 2) being a global supplier and exporter of nuclear technology and services, 3) expanding uranium production and nuclear fuel opportunities, and 4) developing new Canadian nuclear innovations, including in both fission and fusion technologies.

Commercial operations have resumed at Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture, Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced.

Last week’s commercial restart of Unit 6, a 1,315-MWe boiling water reactor, is the first for a TEPCO nuclear facility since the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami triggered an accident at the utility’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Ten months after Rolls-Royce SMR emerged as the United Kingdom’s preferred bidder to build the U.K.’s first small modular reactors, the company and the U.K. government’s Great British Energy–Nuclear (GBE-N) have signed a contract allowing work to begin at the site of the decommissioned Wylfa nuclear plant in North Wales.

Kenya and Rwanda are continuing to make progress toward deployment of their first nuclear reactors sometime in the near future, according to recent developments coming out of the African continent. Here are updates on the two countries’ nuclear ambitions.

Today, the American Nuclear Society issued a press release joining the International Atomic Energy Agency’s calls for maximum military restraint around nuclear power plants and civilian research reactors.

This press release comes as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East primarily involving Iran, Israel, and the United States continues to rapidly evolve and intensify. As is the case with many armed conflicts, the confirmation of each reported update from multiple—and often contradictory—sources comes with significant difficulties. However, IAEA reporting sheds significant light on the current state of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Washington, D.C. — The American Nuclear Society (ANS) issued the following statement:

“The American Nuclear Society supports the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) calls for maximum military restraint around nuclear power plants and civilian research reactors, and for full adherence by all combatants to the IAEA's seven pillars for nuclear safety and security during armed conflict.”

Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.

Developers in Sweden have announced advancements for two reactor projects. Lead-cooled small modular reactor developer Blykalla is proceeding with the permitting process for its proposed SMR park in Norrsundet in the Gävle Municipality after conducting initial assessments to confirm that the site is suitable.

Meanwhile, SMR developer Kärnfull Next has submitted the first application under Sweden’s new Act on Government Approval of Nuclear Facilities, for a proposed SMR campus in the Valdemarsvik Municipality.

In an effort to revamp its nuclear sector and enable the build-out of new projects, the U.K. has unveiled a sweeping set of changes to project deployment. These changes, which are set to come into effect by the end of next year, will restructure the country’s regulatory and environmental approval framework and directly support new growth through various workforce efforts.

I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.

In 1990, 30 percent of Europe’s electricity came from nuclear power plants. In 2026, it is closer to 15 percent.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lamented the decline of nuclear energy, calling it a “strategic mistake” when Europe turned its back on a “reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power.”

Jake Jurewicz

Nuclear technology is mature. It provides firm power at scale with minimal externalities and has done so for decades. The core problem isn’t about the technology—it is how the plants are built. Nuclear construction has a well-documented history of cost and schedule overruns. Previous nuclear plants often spent more than twice what was first budgeted, making nuclear among the power technologies with the largest average cost overruns worldwide.

Recent projects illustrate how severe the problem can be. In South Carolina, the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion saw projected costs rise from roughly $10 billion to more than $25 billion before the project was abandoned in 2017, by which time more than $9 billion had already been spent and customers were stuck paying for a site they have yet to benefit from.

Where do Japan and its nuclear energy ambitions stand 15 years after the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake of March 11, 2011, a destructive tsunami, and an accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant ground them to a halt?

A look at developments within the last year involving Japan’s political leadership, international relations, its fleet of nuclear plants, and the ongoing cleanup and decommissioning at Fukushima shows an island country pushing nuclear to the forefront of its energy plans.