During the OECD NEA Roadmaps to New Nuclear Ministerial Conference 2025, held at OECD headquarters in Paris from September 18-19, Kirsty Gogan moderated the plenary session titled "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Nuclear Energy." She was joined by a distinguished line-up of speakers, including Alessio Iuvara, Chief Executive Officer of Caelus, who discussed AI applications for nuclear; Olivier de Nomazy, Head of Energy Sourcing & Market Intelligence at Data4, focusing on European datacenter requirements; Régis Castagné, Managing Director at Equinix, offering a global infrastructure perspective; Devon Swezey, Senior Manager for Global Energy and Climate at Google, sharing insights on 24/7 carbon-free energy pioneers; Conor Kelly, Power & Utilities Partnerships Lead at Microsoft, exploring AI licensing tools and the Three Mile Island context; and Levi Patterson, Director of Energy, Science, and AI Infrastructure Policy at Nvidia, highlighting advances in computational infrastructure.
This conference brought together senior decision-makers from over 30 countries—including ministers—and CEOs from around 50 companies, providing a critical forum for candid conversations on the key actions needed to reestablish leadership in nuclear energy among OECD nations. As momentum builds globally for nuclear new build, with countries aiming to triple nuclear capacity by 2050 through innovative technologies like SMRs and Generation III reactors, the panel explored how AI can accelerate this growth. Discussion focused on AI's potential to revolutionize reactor operations, enable predictive maintenance, and facilitate real-time safety monitoring, thus helping to overcome barriers such as lengthy licensing processes.
The session also examined how AI adoption could strengthen supply chains, workforce development, and resource allocation—topics vital for an industry poised for significant expansion, driven by countries eager to meet ambitious clean energy and industrial application goals in a rapidly evolving nuclear landscape.