Rockefeller Foundation, Temasek Trust launch coalition for nuclear philanthropy

The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust have launched a new coalition to pull philanthropic money into nuclear energy, a sign that the sector’s support base is widening beyond utilities, regulators and project financiers. Announced in Singapore on May 19 at the Philanthropy Asia Summit during Ecosperity Week, the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy is meant to coordinate capital for efficient, safe, secure and equitable nuclear deployment worldwide. Named partners already include Blue Horizons Foundation, CleanEcon, Founders Pledge, Ray Rothrock and the Rodel Foundation, with The Oppenheimer Project serving as strategic partner.

The practical value of the effort is not in writing checks for reactor concrete. It is in paying for the work that often decides whether nuclear projects move or stall: public education, policy analysis, workforce development, community engagement and the kind of informed dialogue that can lower political friction around new builds. Ashvin Dayal of The Rockefeller Foundation said the next generation of nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, is advancing quickly and will need serious work on policy, regulation, finance and human capital. That is the lane philanthropy can plausibly fill, especially when a project needs support long before it reaches final investment decision.

The coalition is also trying to address a funding imbalance. Founders Pledge, using ClimateWorks data, says only 0.1% to 0.2% of climate philanthropy goes to nuclear energy, or less than $2 out of every $1,000. That makes nuclear a tiny slice of the climate giving market even as its backers argue it belongs alongside money for clean energy security, economic growth, energy abundance and human development. The coalition’s pitch is aimed at donors already funding climate, poverty reduction, energy access and resilience, but who have not treated nuclear as a natural fit.

The timing tracks with the broader policy push around the COP28 Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, launched in December 2023 and first endorsed by more than 20 countries. The declaration now refers to over 30 countries committed to tripling nuclear capacity by 2050. The International Energy Agency added another data point on July 30, 2025, saying global electricity demand is set to rise 3.3% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026, while nuclear output is expected to hit record highs thanks to reactor restarts in Japan, strong production in the United States and France, and new additions mostly in Asia. That is the backdrop for this coalition: a market where demand is climbing, nuclear is gaining momentum, and donor capital may finally have a specific job to do.