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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Latest News
IAEA again raises global nuclear power projections
Noting recent momentum behind nuclear power, the International Atomic Energy Agency has revised up its projections for the expansion of nuclear power, estimating that global nuclear operational capacity will more than double by 2050—reaching 2.6 times the 2024 level—with small modular reactors expected to play a pivotal role in this high-case scenario.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the new projections, contained in the annual report Energy, Electricity, and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050 at the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
In the report’s high-case scenario, nuclear electrical generating capacity is projected to increase to from 377 GW at the end of 2024 to 992 GW by 2050. In a low-case scenario, capacity rises 50 percent, compared with 2024, to 561 GW. SMRs are projected to account for 24 percent of the new capacity added in the high case and for 5 percent in the low case.
Zhongliang Lv, Zhong Chen, Zijia Zhao, Lichao Tian
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 6 | June 2022 | Pages 1074-1082
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.2000557
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As a new type of nuclear power system, more attention has been paid to the small modular reactor in the development of nuclear power after the Fukushima accident. This paper focuses on the core study of a 5-MW(thermal) water-cooled super small modular reactor (WSMR) based on the sensitivity analysis of the key design parameters. The key design parameters include the fuel enrichment of 235U, the moderation performance, the separation work, and the layout scheme of the control rods. The impact analysis of the key design parameters on the steady-state performance and on the burnup performance is provided. From the impact analysis, the method of how to extend the operation life of the WSMR reactor is provided.
