A Collaborative Framework for Accelerating Advanced Nuclear and Small Modular Reactor Deployment

The World Economic Forum presents a framework to scale advanced nuclear and SMR deployment through coordinated action across nine priority areas: demand signalling, energy policy, regulation, project deployment, infrastructure repurposing, technology maturation, supply chain readiness, talent development, and investment catalysis. It emphasizes shifting from traditional onsite construction to factory-led modular manufacturing to reduce costs and argues for the inclusion of nuclear in green taxonomies to attract mainstream finance.

• To achieve the COP28 goal of tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, the world needs to build 25-30 GW of capacity annually starting in 2030.
• Current global nuclear energy policies are insufficient to meet national pledges and industry demand, with existing policies projected to increase capacity by only about 48% between 2022 and 2050.
• The industry can significantly reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and project schedules by transitioning from traditional onsite construction to high-productivity, factory-led modular manufacturing and assembly.
• Repurposing retired coal and fossil fuel plants for SMRs can improve economics by utilizing existing grid connections and steam turbines, while supporting a just transition for workers.
• The nuclear supply chain faces critical shortages in high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, which are essential for advanced reactors but currently underproduced.
• Nuclear power provides significant long-term employment, with each gigawatt of capacity generating approximately 50,000 direct labour years of employment over its lifetime.
• Mobilizing mainstream investment requires including nuclear energy in clean investment taxonomies and developing innovative financing, such as the conceptual International Bank for Nuclear Infrastructure (IBNI) to support embarking countries.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). A Collaborative Framework for Accelerating Advanced Nuclear and Small Modular Reactor Deployment. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_Collaborative_Framework_for_Accelerating_Advanced_Nuclear_and_Small_Modular_Reactor_Deployment_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. A Collaborative Framework for Accelerating Advanced Nuclear and Small Modular Reactor Deployment. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_Collaborative_Framework_for_Accelerating_Advanced_Nuclear_and_Small_Modular_Reactor_Deployment_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=A Collaborative Framework for Accelerating Advanced Nuclear and Small Modular Reactor Deployment |date=November 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_Collaborative_Framework_for_Accelerating_Advanced_Nuclear_and_Small_Modular_Reactor_Deployment_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024collaborative, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{A Collaborative Framework for Accelerating Advanced Nuclear and Small Modular Reactor Deployment}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_Collaborative_Framework_for_Accelerating_Advanced_Nuclear_and_Small_Modular_Reactor_Deployment_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }