Global Energy Analyst: ‘Nuclear is Making a Comeback’

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2025 – International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol shared his outline for the future of nuclear energy, and what big tech’s part in the equation will be.

Birol discussed Thursday with Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe his insights into a new era of nuclear energy. 

Among several topics, Birol discussed how public-private partnerships will be essential in nuclear energy, specifically with immense investor interest in small modular reactors (SMRs). 

“[SMRs] are easier to finance. They are much more flexible, less complex projects to implement, and it takes less time [and is much faster] to build those power plants. And in terms of waste management, it is easier to handle the small modular reactors,” Birol said.

The IEA is an intergovernmental organization providing energy data, analysis, and policy recommendation to countries around the world since 1974.

Birol, a Turkish economist and energy analyst, has been with the organization since 1995, serving as its Executive Director since 2015. He has been a leader in diversifying the agency’s objectives to advise on non-oil based energies, and was named to The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 list by Time Magazine.

Birol believes that the government's ability to properly market domestic private investments is essential to getting high-cost nuclear projects - specifically SMRs - off the ground.

“I see governments [playing] a pivotal role here, both in terms of the providing part of the funding - maybe - but more importantly coming up with instruments to finish the investments and guarantee some of the revenues to get the private capital there,” Birol said.

He believes companies could be turned off by traditional nuclear power plant investments, citing stakeholders could have to wait 20 years to see any sort of returns. 

However, Birol said “small modular reactors could change the picture because they are working with the tech companies, which as I mentioned have high credit ratings, which makes the SMR projects investable.”

Big Tech has begun to invest in nuclear projects over the last few years all in different manners. Google and Amazon have made domestic investments in SMR projects, hoping to use nuclear energy to help power its ever-growing data centers. 

Microsoft is also entering the nuclear industry, partnering with Constellation Energy to reopen a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant to help combat its growing energy needs.

Meta also announced in December that it is taking requests for energy proposals from nuclear developers to help the company “meet [its] AI innovation and sustainability objectives.”

Tech investments are crucial because construction time and costs have been a serious barrier in nuclear energy’s growth, especially in western economies. 

Based on IEA findings, recent nuclear projects in the US and Europe on average have “eight years of a delay, and the cost is two and a half times [what] the cost originally planned,” Birol said.

It is unknown if these time and financial issues to this point have affected projects undergone by tech companies.