Financing the Future: Strategies for Scaling Nuclear Investment
Scaling up investment flows in nuclear energy is one of the major challenges for OECD and NEA countries that have decided or are considering the construction of nuclear power plants. The recent NEA report Effective Frameworks and Strategies for Financing Nuclear New Build offers a comprehensive review of global financing strategies, aiming to establish a common vocabulary and basis for comparative analysis to identify and discuss key lessons learnt about the relative merits of different strategies to finance nuclear projects. While there are no simple solutions for financing new nuclear projects, this report helps identify the “building blocks” that policymakers and private sector decision makers can leverage to help finance a tripling of nuclear energy by 2050.
Speaker
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Michel BerthélemyDr Michel Berthélemy currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) within the Division of Nuclear Technology Development and Economics. He leads international initiatives to advise policymakers on the role of nuclear energy in achieving Net-Zero objectives. His responsibilities encompass nuclear economics, financing, and the formulation of development strategies for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced reactor technologies.
From 2015 to 2019, Michel Berthélemy held the position of Senior Economist at the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). During this period, he advised the French government on strategic matters related to nuclear policy. His expertise extended to reviewing strategic options for the nuclear fuel cycle and supporting investment decisions in large-scale new build and small modular reactors.
Prior to his tenure at CEA, from 2013 to 2015, Michel was a Research Fellow at the University College London (UCL), while being stationed in Adelaide, Australia. Here, he supported the Government of South Australia in the establishment of the 2015 Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission.
A French National, Michel Berthélemy earned his Ph.D. in energy economics from Mines ParisTech in 2013. Between 2013 and 2018 he was selected as a Future Energy Leader by the World Energy Council. Since 2019, he has assumed the role of Chair for the Economics and Energy Strategy Expert Group at the French Nuclear Energy Society (Sfen).