• Nuclear Developer Last Energy Joins Expanding Coalition
• Net Zero Nuclear calls for unprecedented collaboration between leaders and industry in lead up to COP28
• Calls for recognition of nuclear as green energy source and advocacy for the tripling of global nuclear capacity to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy systems.

New York – 23 October 2023: Net Zero Nuclear, the initiative calling for collaboration among government, industry leaders and civil society to triple global nuclear capacity to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, today announced Last Energy as a new partner for the platform. Last Energy joins the initiative at the Bronze Partner level, broadening the initiative, which was launched by World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), with the support of the Atoms4NetZero initiative launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at the World Nuclear Symposium in London early September 2023. The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the United States Government cemented NZN’s global leadership role with their early commitments, and in recent days, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Centrus Energy, and TerraPower also announced their partnership.

In the lead up to COP28, which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai later this year, Net Zero Nuclear aims to bring together political leaders and industry to engage in data-driven, actionable, solutions-focused dialogue to enable the rapid expansion of the global nuclear fleet and the acceleration of research and development into emerging nuclear technologies. The initiative will work to ensure nuclear energy’s potential is fully realized in facilitating the decarbonization of global energy systems, by promoting the value of nuclear energy and removing barriers to its growth.

In the lead up to COP28, which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai later this year, Net Zero Nuclear aims to bring together political leaders and industry leaders to engage in a data-driven, actionable, solutions-focused dialogue to enable the rapid expansion of the global nuclear fleet and the acceleration of research and development into emerging nuclear technologies. The initiative will work to ensure nuclear energy’s potential is fully realized in facilitating the decarbonization of global energy systems, by promoting the value of nuclear energy and removing barriers to its growth.

His Excellency Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ENEC, which leads the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program and its flagship Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, said: “Nuclear power gives us what we need today to make significant progress toward our net-zero goals, but with nuclear, we are also looking forward to new technologies and advancements in the sector. We welcome Last Energy to this effort, whose groundbreaking efforts demonstrate the versatility of nuclear and the innovations surging forward in the industry right now. In less than a month’s time, Net Zero Nuclear has shown the power of partnership around nuclear, and I look forward to growing this effort more as COP28 in Dubai approaches.”

Michelle Brechtelsbauer, Last Energy’s Vice President of Strategy, said: “Nuclear is poised to be the premier energy source for the future, ready to scale to provide the clean baseload power we need to meet our growing energy demands. Last Energy has built the largest pipeline of new nuclear projects under development in the world, a testament to the tremendous demand from industry for clean electricity and heat solutions. We must unlock nuclear’s potential to scale, and that will take new models of development and financing. Net Zero Nuclear is a pivotal initiative that comes at a critical time as the nuclear sector comes together at COP28 to demonstrate a pathway for the rapid deployment of new nuclear capacity globally in pursuit of our shared zero-emission goals.”

Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of World Nuclear Association said: “To achieve the tripling of global nuclear capacity needed to tackle climate change we need innovative approaches, such as that proposed by Last Energy. I welcome them joining Net Zero Nuclear and strengthening our efforts as we look to COP28 and beyond.”

For more information on Net Zero Nuclear visit: netzeronuclear.org