Nuclear finance and pathways to tripling nuclear energy capacity in focus during NEA visit to US – Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)

Visit to the Idaho National Laboratory facilities
NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, led an NEA delegation on a visit to the United States from 21-30 April 2025 for a series of meetings with senior government officials, representatives of finance institutions and the nuclear industry to discuss the most pressing issues in the nuclear sector.
Director-General Magwood met with Nels Norquist, Deputy Assistant to the US President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) for International Economics, to discuss the security of supply chains for nuclear fuel, including high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) for small modular reactors (SMRs), as well as the US administration’s strong support for new nuclear projects and export opportunities internationally. The meeting also focused on the topics to be addressed during Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2025 conference, such as challenges related to capacity building, supply chains and nuclear financing.
The NEA’s engagement with the World Bank on international developmental finance for nuclear energy projects, as well as sector developments such as SMRs, were discussed during meetings with Margaret Kuhlow, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Development Finance and Policy at the US Department of the Treasury, and with representatives of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
During meetings with David A. Wright, Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), members of the Commission and NRC senior leadership, Director General Magwood discussed the ongoing NRC involvement in NEA activities and new areas of mutual interest.
Following a discussion between the Director-General and World Bank President Ajay Banga, the NEA delegation held in-depth discussions with senior experts of the World Bank on the current state of nuclear energy around the world and the issues that will need to be addressed by both NEA countries and countries in the Global South seeking to build new nuclear capacity. The NEA Director-General highlighted the essential role of the World Bank in assuring that nuclear energy is accessible to all regions of the world and emphasised that growing relationship between the two institutions will be a key element in supporting countries’ efforts to finance nuclear energy projects that can contribute to energy security and economic growth.

The NEA delegation with the World Bank representatives
The mission to the US also included a visit to  the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and it’s new facilities supporting the development of new reactor technologies.  The Director-General also provided remarks to the INL staff under the INL Director’s Distinguished Lecture series.
.@OECD_NEA Director General Bill Magwood presented a distinguished lecture to @INL staff members, discussing #nuclear energy, its regulatory and developmental aspects, and more.🤝⚛️

He also toured facilities for a close look at our #nuclear research.⬇️

🔗https://t.co/k0AIF1gDX9 pic.twitter.com/3kQ9JbxLlR
The NEA Director-General also participated in a series of events on the outlook on nuclear energy around the world.
During a discussion on nuclear energy expansion organised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Director-General Magwood, Laura Holgate, Former US Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Jane Nakano, Senior Fellow at the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Programme, explored the pathways to tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050, as well as safety and non-proliferation considerations.

Director-General Magwood also opened the second day of the 2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference with a keynote conversation with Joyce Connery, former Chair of the US Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Addressing an audience working mostly in the field of arms control and non-proliferation, the Director-General highlighted the global policy shift towards new nuclear energy and the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead. Disruptive technologies in the nuclear energy sector, small modular reactors and Generation IV technologies, nuclear energy in the Global South and regulatory preparedness were covered in this wide-ranging debate.
 
NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, and Joyce Connery, former Chair of the US Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board at the 2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference

During a roundtable discussion with senior US officials and nuclear sector experts organised by the Atlantic Council, Director-General Magwood outlined considerations for deploying nuclear energy technologies at scale, the opportunities and challenges of emerging markets in non-OECD countries and approaches to financing nuclear energy projects.
Participants of the roundtable discussion organised by the Atlantic Council
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