Gen IV forum pivots toward more industry input
The world as a whole is belatedly waking up to the importance of nuclear power in the overall energy mix. After more than two decades of stagnation, the capacity of the global nuclear fleet is expected to increase by one-third by 2035.
That’s the projection of the latest World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA) based on existing energy policies and the expectation of “a record high in nuclear power output” in 2025.
"Technology advances… are improving the outlook for nuclear power,” says the report. “As demand surges and the need for reliable, low-emission baseload electricity increases, nuclear is increasingly seen as a critical part of a secure, affordable and diverse electricity mix."
It’s a welcome reversal in fortune for the nuclear industry, which had “suffered some decline and stagnation” from the late 1970s to early 2000s, although its share of world electricity generation remained at 16-17 per cent.
Now, with the very public support for nuclear by the current US administration, the French government’s new multiyear energy programme (PPE) putting renewed focus on nuclear, and other countries looking into it, the nuclear industry appears to be gaining momentum. This point was not lost on the international visitors, delegates and exhibitors who attended the 2025 edition of the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) in record numbers and contributed to the buzz in the exhibition hall and conference rooms.
WNE 2023_© Collectif Favart
Collaborative research and development (R&D) has long been a feature of the civil nuclear industry. At the forefront today is the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a multinational cooperative effort focused on advanced research into fourth-generation (Gen IV) systems – and it is pivoting towards increased industry engagement.
The forum sees a role for industry in supporting its vision and efforts to ensure Gen IV technologies are mature enough “to be economically and sustainably deployed at scale with the highest levels of safety, security and proliferation resistance”, and has established a senior industry advisory panel to feed into the GIF policy group.
Industry will ultimately be the conduit through which Gen IV reactors will become a reality, the forum says, and acknowledges it is through the nuclear industry that GIF will ultimately contribute to the development of new nuclear energy systems. Already private companies including X-energy and TerraPower of the USA, Terrestrial Energy of Canada, Japan’s Toshiba, and the US-Japan alliance GE Hitachi are taking a larger role in the development of Gen IV energy systems.
GIF was set up in 2001 as a high-level vehicle for sharing information arising from R&D which will make Gen IV technologies available for industrial deployment. Its target date for that milestone is 2030.
Dr Stéphane Sarrade, director of Energy Programmes at CEA, is the current chair of GIF. Noting on LinkedIn that 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of GIF, he said highlights of the year will be two meetings of its main governing bodies, the policy group and experts group (PG/EG), “with the objective of further involving the private sector in GIF activities, both in its projects and during its biannual industry round tables”.
The first of these meetings, from 13-17 April, will be hosted by China at Sanya on Hainan Island, while the second will be hosted by Japan at Mito in October.
Most promising technologies indetifies
The advanced reactor field has no shortage of candidates for development. GIF considered about 100 concepts before identifying six reactor technologies as the most promising, and threw its support behind them. The six systems are:
· Gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR)
· Lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR)
· Molten salt reactor (MSR)
· Supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR)
· Sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR)
· Very high-temperature gas reactor (VHTR)
All six are at different stages of research; some are closer to industrial application than others, although any comparison of their technology readiness levels (TRLs) must take into account different national considerations and definitions that vary from country to country.
“We can acknowledge that SFR and then VHTR appear closer to industrial deployment,” said Sarrade. “Nevertheless, their industrial use largely depends on political decisions and national strategies supporting one technology or another, with the relevant fuel cycle.”
A pilot project within the SFR system, involving industry partners, is under way, Sarrade said: “It took GIF considerable time to find the right balance for both parties, and we are now awaiting the results and progress of this project before launching others.”
At the WNE 2023 conference, Emilie Sauchay, HR Manager of Ineo Nucléaire, discussed their strategic workforce planning for 2022 and 2023. She noted the recruitment of skilled workers as a significant factor but emphasised the necessity of making training programs available for professionals outside of the industry.
“For me, the most important one is to be able to train people in our professions, to be able to attract employees who are not currently in the sector but who would like to join this dynamic sector,” Emilie Sauchay stated. She also added that to support the growth of their workforce, Ineo Nucléaire developed training academies and a network of training centres.
Objective to accelerate deployment
Sarrade told WNE Daily that accelerating deployment of Gen IV technology was “one of my priorities as GIF chair, and together with my team, we are working to achieve this objective by 2030”.
“Our first step was to establish a biannual industry round table – open to all – in every region where the GIF is active, to share knowledge, processes, and ways of advancing both technologically and financially.”
Looking at the systems supported by GIF, the SFR, VHTR, LFR and MSR – in that order – appear to be the most promising Gen IV technologies, which “aligns with the level of national involvement within GIF”, said Sarrade. “However, we have chosen to support all six technologies, helping each to unlock its full potential through international collaboration and the framework provided by GIF.”
There are many steps to accelerating deployment, he said, covering points from licensing and standards, to workforce, materials, fuel cycle, waste management, and an all-important comprehensive industry engagement. GIF was “working on each of them and committed to see this deployment phase by 2030.”
Sharing knwoledge and training online
“Through our international cooperation, we harmonise approaches and reduce duplication, risks, and costs,” he said. “We share knowledge and provide online training for both current and future generations of the nuclear workforce.
“The attractiveness of Gen IV systems for the young generation of scientists, engineers and technicians is a major concern of GIF and all the events we support in term of education and training are key actions.”
These events include a popular monthly webinar organised by the GIF education and training working group and presented by experts from around the world. They cover a very broad range of technical and policy related topics. To date, 112 instalments of this series have been presented, with recordings and slide decks available on the GIF website for review and study. By the end of 2023, they had been viewed by more than 15,000 people in more than 80 countries.
From 2024, other GIF groups have also begun to host webinars. Known as the ‘GIF Talks with Industry’ series, these recorded events concentrate on dialogues with industry representatives, and are also available online.
GIF is not alone in seeking to engage the young generation. It is also a key theme at WNE whose Job and Training Programme is designed with budding scientists, engineers and technicians in mind. Over the three days of the show, it brings the next generation face to
face with current leaders and professionals across the entire nuclear value chain. WNE welcomes enquiries from companies interested in helping build this programme.
The GIF team is currently preparing the GIF Industry Forum 2027, with the aim of organizing it at the end of 2027 alongside WNE 2027, which returns to Paris Villepinte exhibition centre from 7–9 December 2027.