Global nuclear power capacity could more than triple by 2060 as countries increasingly consider reactors to meet rising electricity demand and energy security, with small modular reactors (SMRs) set to become a significant new source of clean power and a growing need to offset retiring reactors, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.

IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi announced the new projections, contained in the 46th annual report Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2060 at the 70th IAEA general conference in Vienna on 14 September.

It is the sixth year in a row the IAEA has revised up its projections for the expansion of nuclear power. The outlook, which previously projected trends through 2050, has been extended to 2060 in this year’s edition.