The twin pressures of soaring electricity demand and the push for sustainability have breathed life into the nuclear industry as it seeks to reach a “tipping point” on the path to affordability, Craig Albert, president and chief operating officer of US engineering giant Bechtel, wrote in a blog.

Albert said that US dominance in the world’s nuclear industry from the 1950s through the 1980s was crucial to the responsible growth of nuclear energy. It promoted strong safety, security, and nonproliferation standards. It also deepened strategic international ties and helped the US stay at the forefront of nuclear science, engineering, and technology.

He said that in order to build a path to affordability, “we must push these technologies down the cost curve by building more units”. He said that as with any new technology, once standardisation and repetition are achieved, construction schedules shorten, and costs go down.

“We had just reached this tipping point in the 1970s before nuclear’s decline,” he said. “Now, we’re on track to reach it again over the next 10 to 15 years.”