The World Nuclear Association (formerly the Uranium Institute) is a London-based non-governmental membership association that advocates for pro-nuclear-energy policies.

Background

The Uranium Institute was founded in London in 1975 as a trade association to represent the interests of the world’s uranium producers. Initially, the institute focused on advocacy campaigns that aimed to dissuade the public of then-prevalent claims about the existence of a uranium cartel and inflated uranium prices. However, after 1980, following a drop in the price of uranium, the institute changed its focus to address problems with the uranium market. ¹

In 1999, the institute decided to pivot toward advocacy campaigns supporting nuclear energy more generally and adopted the organizational subtitle, “The International Association for Nuclear Energy.” Following this pivot, the institute began data-collection and information-sharing projects, as well as advocacy campaigns aimed particularly at international policy makers. ²

Previously, according to the trade journal Nuclear Monitor, there had been “no nuclear industry group lobbying at international institutions.” To that end, the institute restyled itself as a non-governmental organization and acquired status as such at international bodies including the International Maritime Organization and the OSPAR Convention held in Oslo and Paris. ^{3 4}

On May 15, 2001, following the Institute’s turn of the century overhaul from uranium-sector trade association to more general pro-nuclear non-governmental organization, the organization adopted its current name, the Word Nuclear Association. ⁵

Activities

World Nuclear Association maintains a variety of informational and educational projects. It publishes The Information Library, a digitally accessible library of entries on nuclear energy topics, ranging from involved technologies to related economics, as well as World Nuclear News, launched in 2007, which publishes articles reporting on developments in the nuclear sector. ⁶

Additionally, the association regularly publishes reports for use by individuals and institutions in the nuclear industry, such as the Nuclear Fuel Report, World Nuclear Supply Chain Report, and World Nuclear Performance Report. Similarly, it publishes standalone issue reports, such as a prospective roadmap for the standardization of nuclear reactor designs, and another a framework for safety management in uranium mining and processing operations. ⁷

Since its organizational pivot in 1999, the World Nuclear Association has engaged in advocacy campaigns to combat negative views about nuclear energy held by the public and policymakers. The association promotes claims that nuclear energy is aligned with environmentalist objectives such as reducing carbon emissions, and environmentalist initiatives, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. More generally, the association aims to persuade policy makers and financial institutions that nuclear energy ought to be “treated as an equal” with other energy production technologies favored by environmentalists. ⁸

In 2003, the World Nuclear Association, collaborating with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the OECD Nuclear Agency, and the World Association of Nuclear Operators, founded the World Nuclear University, which offers educational programming to admitted fellows, particularly though its Summer Institute program. ⁹

Members

Members of the World Nuclear Association include organizations, institutions, and governmental agencies involved in aspects of the nuclear energy sector, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fabrication, engineering, research, regulation, education, waste management, and generation. ¹⁰

People

Sama Bilbao y Leon has been the director general of the World Nuclear Association since October 2020. Previously, Leon was a nuclear safety analysis engineer at Dominion Energy, director of nuclear engineering programs and associate professor at the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, head of the Division of Nuclear Technology Development and Economics at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, head of the Technical Secretariat at the Generation IV International Forum, and head of the Water Cooled Reactors Technology Development Unit at the International Atomic Energy Agency. ¹¹

1. “Uranium Institute: Nuclear lobby organization.” Nuclear Monitor. April 9, 1999. Accessed April 25, 2023. https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/508/uranium-institute-nuclear-lobby-organisation
2. “Uranium Institute: Nuclear lobby organization.” Nuclear Monitor. April 9, 1999. Accessed April 25, 2023. https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/508/uranium-institute-nuclear-lobby-organisation
3.  “About OSPAR.” OSPAR. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.ospar.org/about#:~:text=OSPAR%20is%20so%20named%20because,%22PAR%22%20for%20Paris).
4. “Uranium Institute: Nuclear lobby organization.” Nuclear Monitor. April 9, 1999. Accessed April 25, 2023. https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/508/uranium-institute-nuclear-lobby-organisation
5. “Anniversary: Building on 20 years of success, the next decade will be crucial for nuclear power.” World Nuclear News. May 14, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Anniversary-A-watershed-moment-for-the-nuclear-ind
6. “Anniversary: Building on 20 years of success, the next decade will be crucial for nuclear power.” World Nuclear News. May 14, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Anniversary-A-watershed-moment-for-the-nuclear-ind
7. “Anniversary: Building on 20 years of success, the next decade will be crucial for nuclear power.” World Nuclear News. May 14, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Anniversary-A-watershed-moment-for-the-nuclear-ind
8. “Anniversary: Building on 20 years of success, the next decade will be crucial for nuclear power.” World Nuclear News. May 14, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Anniversary-A-watershed-moment-for-the-nuclear-ind
9. “Anniversary: Building on 20 years of success, the next decade will be crucial for nuclear power.” World Nuclear News. May 14, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Anniversary-A-watershed-moment-for-the-nuclear-ind
10. “World Nuclear Association Members.” World Nuclear Association Members. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://world-nuclear.org/our-association/membership/our-members.aspx
11. “Director General.” World Nuclear Association. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://world-nuclear.org/