Solving the Climate Crisis: What Role Can New Nuclear Technologies Play?

London, England

Cleary Gottlieb proudly partnered with our pro bono client the Clean Growth Leadership Network (CGLN) to bring together a range of stakeholders to discuss scientific, business, and wider societal issues pertaining to new nuclear technology and the role it can play in tackling the climate crisis.

In view of the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine, there is a need to explore new energy sources, to develop carbon-free power and heat production that can complement solar and wind (interruptible and not viable everywhere), and to find energy sources not dependent on unstable regions or unreliable sources.

Fourth Generation nuclear technology, particularly molten salt reactors, offers the advantages of nuclear heat and power generation without the disadvantages. These reactors run carbon-free, cannot melt down or explode, incorporate passive safety, and burn nuclear waste instead of creating more. This scalable technology is very difficult to use for nuclear weapons, is not dependent on rare fuels, and offers the prospect of “negative carbon” to combat climate change.

The goal of the conference was to explore how the scientific, business and finance, and stakeholder communities can work together to speed up innovation and the scaling up of this new nuclear technology.

This hybrid event took place at Cleary Gottlieb’s London office, a day before the World Nuclear Symposium 2022.