Nuclear takes centre stage at Singapore International Energy Week 2026
Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), Asia’s leading platform for energy policymakers and industry, takes place from 26 to 30 October 2026 under the theme “Connecting Energy Systems, Powering Tomorrow”. This year, organizers have placed advanced nuclear technologies among the low-carbon options at the centre of discussions, and the expanded summit includes the first IAEA@SIEW Forum, co-hosted by Singapore’s Energy Market Authority and the IAEA, on how ASEAN can safely unlock nuclear energy’s potential.
World Nuclear Association Director General Dr Sama Bilbao y León joins the heads of the IEA and IRENA among the week’s distinguished attendees, bringing the global nuclear industry’s perspective to a region where several countries are moving from ambition towards their first nuclear plants. Coming just ten days before COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, SIEW is a key moment for World Nuclear Association to lead discussions and build momentum behind the new nuclear capacity needed to help countries meet their Paris Agreement climate goals and industry meet its decarbonization targets. World Nuclear Association continues to encourage more countries to join the 39 that already support the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050.
Why Southeast Asia matters
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing energy markets in the world. Electricity demand across ASEAN is rising quickly with economic growth, urbanization, industrial expansion and new data centres, and the region’s energy demand is projected to grow fourfold by 2060. At the same time, governments in the region have committed to net zero targets. Meeting both goals needs reliable, low-carbon power that can run around the clock.
Several ASEAN countries now see nuclear energy as part of that answer. In November 2024 Vietnam’s National Assembly voted to restart the country’s nuclear programme. A new Atomic Energy Law, passed in June 2025, named nuclear energy as a national strategic priority, and in March 2026 Vietnam and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement on building the Ninh Thuan 1 plant, part of Vietnam’s plans for 2.4 GWe of nuclear capacity.
A clear message from last week’s World Nuclear Supply Chain conference in Manila was how seriously the region is considering nuclear, and the strong demand signal it is sending to industry. Under ASEAN’s coordinated target scenario, the region would need 32.7 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2060. The Philippines aims to have its first 1,200 MWe operating by 2032, rising to 4,800 MWe by 2050. Indonesia’s revised National Energy Policy, signed in September 2025, includes nuclear in the country’s future energy mix, with an initial 200 MWe announced and 29 possible sites proposed across the archipelago. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore all have targets and studies under way, with Singapore building its expertise in advanced reactors, including small modular reactors (SMRs). A new Philippines-led ASEAN nuclear working group will support this progress, covering regulation, financing, standards and skills.
Turning ambition into projects
World Nuclear Association’s World Nuclear Outlook Report 2026 shows that the ambition is already there. National targets add up to 1,457 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2050, well above what is needed to triple global capacity, with countries new to nuclear contributing 154 GWe.
For newcomer countries, that means building the foundations early: clear and durable policy, a strong, independent regulator, a skilled workforce and public confidence. It also means working together. Shared approaches to licensing, regulation, training and supply chains across ASEAN could help the region’s first projects move faster and make each one that follows cheaper and easier to build.
Finance will be just as important. Alongside SIEW, World Nuclear Association is holding a Singapore session of its Financing Nuclear Briefing Series, bringing together leaders from energy, finance and government to look at how investment can flow to nuclear projects in the region. As Asia’s leading financial centre, Singapore is a natural place for that conversation.
Watch: World Nuclear Association’s Director General at SIEW 2026
In her SIEW interview, Dr Sama Bilbao y León discusses the role nuclear could play in Southeast Asia’s future energy mix, what needs to fall into place for deployment to accelerate, and how advanced nuclear technologies can fit into the region’s increasingly interconnected energy systems.
Watch the interview on YouTube
World Nuclear Association at SIEW 2026
- SIEW Summit, Monday 26 October: Director General Dr Sama Bilbao y León speaks on the opening day, exploring how nuclear energy can strengthen the resilience of energy systems and help meet growing demand for clean electricity, including from AI, data centres and cooling.
- SIEW Thinktank Roundtable, Friday 30 October: World Nuclear Association co-hosts the Advancing Nuclear Readiness for Energy Security and Decarbonisation roundtable with Singapore’s Energy Market Authority. Dr. Jonathan Cobb delivers opening remarks and joins the second panel.