UAE Moves to Establish Itself as a Global Nuclear Power

UAE Eyes Global Nuclear Energy Market, Focuses on US and AI-Driven Demand

The United Arab Emirates is actively positioning itself to play a major role in the global nuclear energy market, especially in the United States. It plans to use its successful nuclear energy program – in particular, the operation of its Barakah Nuclear Power Plant – to address the growing energy demand caused by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The UAE sees a huge opportunity in the US market, especially given the country’s intensive investments in AI infrastructure, the CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC) told the Financial Times. The US recently unveiled a massive $500 billion “Stargate” program, which includes $100 billion allocated for the construction of AI-powered data centers in Texas. The UAE wants to capitalize on the expected large increase in energy demand resulting from this expansion of AI by exporting its nuclear technologies.

ENEC’s global reach extends beyond the United States. The UAE is also investigating the prospect of building a nuclear facility in the Philippines and is in talks to invest in significant nuclear energy projects in the UK, including the Sizewell C nuclear plant. The UAE has an obvious edge in the region because it is the only Gulf country with a nuclear power plant that can produce 5,300 megawatts of electricity.

Other Gulf nations are increasingly looking to nuclear energy as a way to diversify their energy sources and reserve more fossil fuels for export.As an indication of the region’s growing interest in nuclear power, Saudi Arabia has declared plans to enrich and export its local uranium resources.

Meanwhile, the emergence of AI companies like Chinese startup DeepSeek is changing the technology landscape, affecting IT and energy companies in the United States. Despite these setbacks, the International Energy Agency (IEA) continues to predict a steady expansion of nuclear capacity worldwide over the next 20 years. However, this growth does not take into account the increase in energy consumption caused by the development of AI, which is predicted to increase the demand for nuclear and other sustainable energy sources.

With these developments, in addition to being a regional leader in nuclear energy, the UAE is positioning itself as a key player in the global market, especially in powering the future AI-driven digital economy.