On Nuclear Energy Investment, Innovation and More
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy said " Nuclear energy is essential to achieving the Administration’s goals to create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions economy by 2050."
Separately, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced plans to build Canada's first nuclear power facility in 30 years and OPG CEO Ken Hartwick said: "We know nuclear is a key proven zero-emissions baseload energy source that will help us achieve net-zero as a company by 2040, and act as a catalyst for efficient economy-wide decarbonisation by 2050 …"
Note: GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is the reactor provider.
Finally, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) raised $1.8 billion in Series B funding from investors including Tiger Global Management, Bill Gates; Coatue; DFJ Growth; Emerson Collective; Google; John Doerr; Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures; Senator Investment Group; Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Khosla Ventures; Soros Fund Management and Temasek.
CFS CEO Bob Mumgaard, in testimony to the U.S. Congress (Nov. 17) said: “Commercial fusion energy will be a game changer in the clean energy transition. It will provide zero-carbon, safe, and limitless power for the world.
“To achieve zero-emissions electricity production by 2050 we will need one of the largest industrial transformations in history … This is the largest problem and opportunity facing humanity and to solve it the market needs fundamentally new energy generation technology."
OUR TAKE
Nuclear power is among the various solutions that will help mitigate environmental risks.
An increased focus on nuclear energy by global regulators should help attract investment capital and support the development of innovative solutions.
With about 10% of global electricity produced by 445 nuclear reactors (with another 50 reactors under development), the deployment of varied types of reactors will increase their acceptance and drive market momentum.