Financing Nuclear Energy in Southeast Asia: Investment Needs, Risks and Pathways

As Southeast Asia faces rapidly growing electricity demand and the urgent need to decarbonise, nuclear energy has re-emerged as a potential option for long-term energy security and emissions reduction. Yet while interest in both conventional nuclear technologies and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) is rising across the region, financing remains one of the most significant barriers to deployment.

This third webinar in the Southeast Asia Nuclear Dialogue Series, organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA), examined the current investment landscape for nuclear power and explored pathways and scenarios for how the sector could realistically develop in Southeast Asia before 2035.

Tanguy De Bienassis from the IEA’s Energy Investment Unit presented an overview of global and regional nuclear investment trends, project economics, and the key financing hurdles facing policymakers. The discussion also covered how Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) typically evaluate nuclear projects, the types of support instruments available, and the conditions Southeast Asian governments would need to meet for projects to be considered bankable.

Key insights from the webinar included:

• the scale and structure of capital needs for nuclear projects;

• differences in investment profiles between large-scale nuclear and SMRs;

• realistic timelines for financing and construction;

• how ECAs and private capital assess nuclear-related risks;

• the importance of long-term, stable government commitments and clear risk-reward frameworks to attract private sector investment.

A dedicated Q&A session enabled policymakers and regional stakeholders to engage directly with the speaker and discuss the applicability of different financing models in the Southeast Asian context.

The webinar recording and presentation slides are now available.