"The IAEA is talking with 50-60 countries about the construction of nuclear power plants," Hans-Holger Rogner, head of planning and economic studies at the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview with the German newsletter VDI Nachrichten.

"There were only half as many just four years ago. That's a sign of where the journey is headed," he said.

Rogner said the key factor would be to make credible assurances that the nuclear technology could not be misused for military purposes.

"The core problem is international control of the fuel cycle," he said.

The IAEA official said he expected interest in nuclear energy to keep rising.

"If you look at long-term trends in the global energy industry, it's clear that there's no getting round the nuclear power option," Rogner said.

"That is particularly the case in countries and regions with access to few other usable resources," he said.

"It's always been apparent to us that demand, i.e. the market, is driving this development and that's what we're seeing now."

The IAEA is organising an international ministerial conference on nuclear energy in the 21st century in Beijing next week to discuss the current status and future prospects for nuclear power.

The three-day conference will be attended by 30 energy ministers and representatives from over 65 countries.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Guria, will also attend.

The gathering will address the world's energy needs and resources, the development of nuclear infrastructure, innovations in nuclear technology, fuel supply and management of spent nuclear fuel.

It will also look at governance of the nuclear industry, and whether the current financial crisis may impact rising expectations for the growth of nuclear power.

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Paris (AFP) April 30, 2009
French nuclear power group Areva said Thursday it had filed a request for arbitration to try to stop Germany's Siemens creating a rival venture with Russian group Rosatom.