5. Conclusion

Nuclear power has enormous technical and economic potential for development in this century. In addition to its moderate cost, its strengths include its ability to produce electricity in large quantities, under safety conditions that are rarely attained, and without greenhouse gas emissions. It also has abundant and well-distributed uranium and thorium resources, and the technical means to manage all its waste are now well known. Nuclear energy also has significant development potential for uses other than electricity generation, notably for thermochemical processes requiring large quantities of high-temperature energy.

However, in addition to the tried-and-tested, mainly water-based technologies, numerous technological developments will be needed to ensure that nuclear energy can live up to all its promises. To ensure the sustainable development of this form of...