"Those countries that opt to use nuclear energy or support its use recognise its potential as a clean energy source that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels, to address the climate crisis and improve global energy security," a ministerial communiqué released at the end of the event said.

Demand for renewable energy resources has never been more robust, and billions of dollars in federal funding are now available to support projects designed to meet the demand. Projects that qualify for funding are designed to harness energy from water, wind or solar sources. Some technology projects are also eligible.

In addition to creating a working group to support plans to design, construct and commission the new units at Kozloduy, the two countries will also "explore collaboration on research and training programmes and developing Bulgaria's nuclear supply chain resilience".

Kudankulam, about 100 kilometres from the port city of Tuticorin in the state of Tamil Nadu at the southern tip of India, is already home to two operating Russian-VVER 1000 pressurised water reactors: Kudankulam 1 has been in commercial operation since 2014 and Kudankulam 2 since 2017.

By leveraging digital modeling technology, utilities can anticipate challenges, optimize performance, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the grid.

The European Commission set up a European SMR pre-Partnership in June last year with the overall objective of identifying enabling conditions and constraints,

For nuclear power to live up to the current hype it is getting, it needs to fully address its perennial issues and problems, and so far it has not done so.

Australia is a sunny country with excellent renewable energy resources. However it is not rolling out clean energy projects rapidly enough to reach the Australian government’s target of 82% renewable electricity by 2030.

In the real world, climate has changed numerous times, often dramatically, sometimes catastrophically, and always naturally. Multiple ice ages and interglacial periods, Roman and Medieval warm periods, a Little Ice Age, major floods, droughts and dust bowls all actually happened – long before fossil fuels.

According to World Nuclear Association information, Russia produced 2508 tU in 2022, making it the sixth largest producer of uranium in the world, while Russian reactor requirements for 2023 were estimated at 6284 tU.

Nuclear advocates have pushed for SMRs for more than a decade, but so far Russia is the only country to put them into commercial use.

While global growth in electricity demand eased slightly to 2.2% in 2023 due to falling electricity consumption in advanced economies, it is projected to accelerate to an average of 3.4% from 2024 through to 2026.

The survey found that, across the 20 countries surveyed, 28% of respondents oppose the use of nuclear energy while 46% support it. Of the 20 countries surveyed, 17 have net support for nuclear energy's use. Support was found to be more than three times higher than opposition in the world's two most populated countries, China and India.

Currently, about 15% of Britain's energy needs are met by nuclear power, a drop from 27% in the 1990s as older plants have been decommissioned and new ones are taking time to build.

Betavolt, which was established in April 2021, says its battery "combines nickel-63 nuclear isotope decay technology and China's first diamond semiconductor (4th generation semiconductor) module to successfully realise the miniaturisation of atomic energy batteries".