NAIROBI, Kenya — Energy disruptions from the Iran war are driving nations across Asia and Africa to accelerate nuclear power development as they seek alternatives to volatile fossil fuel markets, marking a significant shift in energy policy that could reshape the global atomic energy landscape for decades.
The conflict has created severe supply shocks in regions most dependent on Middle Eastern oil and natural gas, with Asia experiencing the most immediate impact followed by Africa. The U.S. and Europe are also feeling the pinch as the conflict drives up energy costs. Countries with existing nuclear infrastructure are ramping up output while non-nuclear nations are fast-tracking long-term atomic energy plans to reduce exposure to future fossil fuel disruptions.
Asia's Nuclear Acceleration
In Asia, where energy triage efforts range from increased coal use to purchases of Russian crude oil, countries with nuclear plants are seeking to get more out of their existing reactors. South Korea is increasing generation at its nuclear plants and speeding up maintenance at five offline reactors, with restarts planned in May. Taiwan is considering the years-long process of restarting two reactors because of the current crisis, which will require meticulous inspections, safety checks and control system verifications.
Japan has moved decisively since the war began, with Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae signing a $40 billion reactor deal with the U.S., a nuclear fuel recycling agreement with France and promising Indonesia nuclear cooperation. Japan restarted the world's largest nuclear plant, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa site, in January. These actions reverse policies that shuttered nuclear sites following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown, triggered when an earthquake and tsunami disabled the power supply that cooled the reactors.
Michiyo Miyamoto of the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said historically high electricity costs combined with the current crisis is swinging Japanese public opinion toward acceptance of nuclear power, though she maintains renewables like solar and wind make more sense than nuclear for energy affordability and security.
In South Asia, Bangladesh is racing to turn on new reactors built by Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, hoping they will supply the national grid with 300 megawatts by this summer, relieving some pressure from current gas shortfalls. Vietnam signed a deal with Moscow in March for two Russian-designed reactors. The Philippines, which recently declared a national energy emergency, is also considering reviving a nuclear plant built in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis but never turned on.
Alvie Asuncion-Astronomo of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said, "I hope we learned our lesson," and added that the Iran war is "providing a needed push for nuclear."
Africa's Strategic Nuclear Pivot
Soaring energy prices and power shortages in Africa, triggered by the Iran war, are leading to public calls for nuclear cooperation and re-invigorated interest in long-term nuclear energy plans, which are underway in more than 20 of the 54 African countries. With Africa seen as an atomic energy growth market, nuclear nations including the U.S., Russia, China, France and South Korea are pitching advanced technology such as small modular reactors, or SMRs, as a solution to energy shortages.
Kenya plans to bring a small modular reactor online in 2034 after starting the first phase in 2009. Last month, Justus Wabuyabo of Kenya's Nuclear Power and Energy Agency said, "nuclear energy is no longer a distant aspiration for African countries; it is a strategic necessity." During a March summit convened by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Africa will be "one of the most important global markets" for the smaller reactors in the years ahead.
Smaller reactors, which can offer scalable, low-emitting base load power, are considered a solution to Africa's rising electricity demand, weak grids and over reliance on imported diesel. Loyiso Tyabashe of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation said SMRs could "fulfill our strategic objective of positioning South Africa at the forefront of advanced nuclear technologies." South Africa, which has the continent's only existing nuclear plants, wants nuclear to go from making around 5% of its energy mix now to 16% by 2040.
Global Nuclear Renaissance
Rachel Bronson of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said the war has accelerated a global "nuclear renaissance," as countries seek an out from the risks of fossil fuel markets. The International Atomic Energy Agency says there are 31 countries that use nuclear power, which provides about 10% of global electricity, and another 40 nations are either considering the technology or preparing to build a plant.
Joshua Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations said long-term commitments to nuclear power made now will likely lock it in to countries' future energy mixes. Nuclear power takes advantage of the energy released when the nucleus of an atom, such as uranium, splits in a process called fission. Unlike fossil fuels, it does not release climate change-causing carbon dioxide, but it creates potentially dangerous radioactive waste, one reason many countries are cautious about nuclear power.
The energy disruptions come as competition for influence in Africa intensifies between Washington and Moscow. Russia's Rosatom is building Egypt's first reactor and has cooperation agreements with Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania and Niger, spanning major projects, research centers, uranium processing facilities and training programs. While only Kenya and Ghana have joined an American-led modular reactor initiative, Washington is trying to catch up.
The U.S. and South Korea sponsored a nuclear conference in Nairobi last month. Ryan Taugher of the U.S. State Department said Washington is working with African nations to rapidly develop secure and safe civil nuclear reactors. Ghana, which aims to begin building a nuclear plant in 2027, is in the market for foreign suppliers.
Risks like meltdowns and mismanaged waste remain, even as interest builds. Ayumi Fukakusa of the advocacy group Friends of the Earth Japan said, "nuclear is very risky" and will keep countries reliant on imported fuels such as enriched uranium. Rex Amancio of the Global Renewables Alliance said that given nuclear sectors take years to develop, governments should stay focused on building out renewables for long-term energy security.
Bronson also said nuclear plants are vulnerable during conflicts, citing recent instances where reactors were specifically targeted during the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine War. She said, "All of this comes into the mix of how we think about energy security. Countries are now weighing those kinds of risks against the other risks, which Asia and Africa are seeing first and foremost, about what happens when gas and oil stops."
Why This Matters:
The Iran war's energy disruptions reveal the strategic vulnerability that comes with dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets and unstable supplier regions. Nations across Asia and Africa are responding with long-term commitments to nuclear power that will shape their energy independence and economic competitiveness for generations. While nuclear development requires substantial upfront investment and carries operational risks, it offers base load power without carbon emissions and reduces exposure to geopolitical energy shocks. The competition between American and Russian nuclear technology providers in Africa also highlights how energy infrastructure decisions carry significant national security implications. Countries making nuclear commitments now are choosing energy sovereignty over continued reliance on imported fuels, though the decades-long development timeline means nuclear power is not a quick fix for the current energy crisis affecting consumers and businesses today.