New Guide highlights tools to support nuclear investment and accelerate global scale-up

Issued Tuesday 8 September 2026

Following intensive collaboration between key stakeholders in the finance and nuclear sectors, World Nuclear Association provides a comprehensive framework for understanding, assessing and financing nuclear projects, as nuclear financing needs could rise above $250 billion a year. 

Ahead of the World Nuclear Symposium Finance Summit, World Nuclear Association has published the complete World Nuclear Investment Guide, providing tools for more efficient transactions and more confident financial decision-making. This forms part of broader effort to call upon governments, the nuclear industry and the finance community to work together to improve project structuring, investment readiness and financial decision-making for the new wave of nuclear power plants the world demands. 

Delivering global nuclear growth requires investment to rise to an annual average of more than $250 billion, with financing needs accelerating in the mid-2030s and totalling $6 trillion by 2050.  

Three new modules, released today, together with the Roadmap to Mainstream Finance, the publications form part of a broader effort to connect key stakeholders, share knowledge and unlock the investment needed accelerate scaling nuclear energy worldwide.  

Speaking about the new guide, Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of World Nuclear Association, said: “Nuclear's challenge is not a shortage of capital. The challenge is ensuring that projects are structured, valued and financed in ways that allow capital to flow at scale. The Investment Guide helps bridge the gap between the nuclear and financial communities by translating decades of nuclear experience into the frameworks investors already use. Nuclear projects become more financeable when risks and rewards are allocated appropriately, and the full value nuclear brings to energy systems and society are recognised.”  

The three new modules build on the Roadmap and set out how nuclear projects can be structured more effectively, how investors can assess nuclear using familiar infrastructure finance frameworks, and how governments and developers can improve project investment readiness. The three modules are: 

Nuclear Must Knows explains why the challenge facing nuclear is a valuation challenge, not simply one of technology. The module highlights the full value nuclear provides to energy systems, including energy security, reliability and decarbonisation, and puts risks in context to show how the industry is evolving. 

Three characteristics of nuclear projects drive investment decisions: reliability, carbon intensity and asset life. Nuclear plants score highly in all three characteristics and generate more lifetime electricity output per dollar invested than other major energy sources. 

Investment Readiness provides practical guidance and checklists for governments and project developers, emphasising that technical, financial and project readiness must progress in parallel if projects are to attract investment. 

Developer and Investment Models proposes a more structured and collaborative approach to nuclear project development, that starts with the business case first. While bringing governments, developers and financiers together earlier is essential to identify risks, align incentives and improve investment outcomes. 

Key findings  

• The full value of new nuclear energy projects, including benefits of energy security, reliability and decarbonisation, are not always recognised by governments, markets or investors. 
• Nuclear costs are driven primarily by financing structures. According to the IEA & OECD-NEA, a 1% reduction in cost of capital lowers the levelized cost of electricity of nuclear by roughly $10 to $20/MWh. 
• Nuclear projects can be assessed using tools and frameworks already applied to other major infrastructure investments. 
• Successful delivery depends on project readiness, stable programmes and supply chain capability, rather than technology alone. 

Taken together, the World Nuclear Investment Guide provides a roadmap for collaboration between governments, investors and the nuclear industry, setting out the steps needed to unlock mainstream finance and deliver nuclear energy at the scale required for future energy security and decarbonisation goals. 

World Nuclear Association has developed the Guide through sustained engagement with leaders from across the nuclear and financial sectors, including through the Financing Nuclear Briefing Series, the Nuclear Investment Guide Advisory Board and a member-driven Task Force. This convening role is intended to close knowledge gaps, build a common language and bring governments, industry and investors together around the steps needed to scale nuclear finance. 

Read the full World Nuclear Investment Guide at worldnuclearassociation.foleon.com/nuclear-investment-guide/nuclear-investment-guide/

Notes for Editors 

Today, nuclear energy provides around 9% of the world's electricity from around 440 nuclear reactors in 31 countries. Nuclear provides over 20% of the world’s low-carbon electricity and is the largest source of low-carbon power in OECD countries. 

• The World Nuclear Outlook Report (published 7 September) projects that global nuclear capacity could reach 1457 GWe by 2050, exceeding the 1200 GW target set in the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, if government targets are met. This assessment includes plans for continued and extended operation of existing reactors, completion of those under construction, and realization of planned and proposed projects, alongside national capacity targets. 
• The Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050 is endorsed by 38 countries. 
• Many of the world’s largest financial institutions and major energy users have joined this coalition of the ambitious in support of the nuclear industry pledge to at least triple global nuclear capacity by 2050.