Nuclear Power Faces Workforce Crisis Amid Rising Demand
The nuclear energy sector is approaching a critical juncture as the current workforce nears retirement age while demand for nuclear power surges due to the growing need for reliable energy sources to support artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification efforts.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the nuclear sector will create 375,000 new jobs by 2050 to meet the increasing demand. This projection comes as about 60% of the current nuclear workforce, aged between 30 and 54, is expected to retire in the next decade, creating a significant talent gap.
“I think there’s sort of this two-way street on AI and nuclear,” said Craig Piercy, CEO of the American Nuclear Society. “AI needs nuclear because AI needs energy to run the data centers that run AI. And then AI is going to help nuclear be more efficient.”
The nuclear industry experienced cyclical demand since the 1960s, with growth slowing in the 1980s due to public resistance and high-profile incidents like Chernobyl. This led to a period of stagnation, resulting in a gap between experienced professionals and the industry’s future workforce.
Recent developments, particularly in AI and the push for domestic manufacturing, have revitalized interest in nuclear energy. Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon are investing in new reactor designs such as small modular reactors (SMRs), driving what has been called “a nuclear renaissance.” Just four SMR companies have received nearly $3 billion in equity funding.
The increased energy demand is not solely driven by AI; the U.S. push toward electrification and onshore manufacturing is also expected to significantly increase energy needs. “For the last 20 years or so, US electricity demand has essentially been flat,” Piercy noted. “In the last two years, we’re looking now at 2 or 3% energy demand growth over the next 10 years.”
To address the impending workforce shortage and rising demand, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory are developing innovative solutions. One such tool is PRO-AID, an AI-powered digital assistant designed to help operators perform diagnostics for nuclear reactors.
Richard Vilim, a senior nuclear engineer at Argonne, explained that PRO-AID can monitor systems, identify issues, and provide explanations for its diagnoses using advanced algorithms inspired by ChatGPT. This capability allows operators to query the system and understand the reasoning behind its conclusions.
“Not only does the operator learn, ‘Oh, there’s a leak outside containment,’ he or she can query the system and say, ‘Well, why do you say that?'” Vilim said. The tool is being developed to enhance remote monitoring capabilities, potentially allowing a single operator to oversee multiple systems simultaneously, thus improving efficiency and safety.
Experts believe that AI could help bridge the gap created by the retiring workforce. “Potentially,” said Massimiliano Fratoni, chair of the nuclear engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley, “AI could meet the gap.” By automating certain tasks and enhancing the capabilities of the existing workforce, AI may play a crucial role in the future of nuclear energy.
