A new report from analysts at Deloitte Access Economics has highlighted 25 sectors that could drive the Australian economy in the future, including nuclear power generation and waste storage.

The latest Deloitte report identifies 19 under-recognised “growth pockets”, which together could add $150 billion to Australian economic growth.

Australia should look to pioneer the next generation of nuclear power, Deloitte says, which remains one of the cleanest and most efficient energy sources available.

This country has several key factors in its favour in regard to nuclear power; a majority of the island is geologically stable, has low rainfall, limited erosion, extremely slow ground-water velocity and seismic activity.

Australia also has massive reserves of high-grade uranium, though it may not be needed if better sources of nuclear power such as thorium are explored instead.

As a waste-storage site, Australia’s political and social stability is seen as advantageous, as it is less likely that rogue elements may seek to use stored waste as a source for weaponry. This stability is lacking in several alternative sites such as southern Africa, western China and Argentina.

Not only are developments being made every year to increase the safety of stored waste, there are also strong efforts to create systems for re-using it.

“By some estimates, nuclear waste could not only be used up over time, but could generate enough electricity to power the planet for 300 years,” Deloitte said in the report.

“Clearly, the people of Australia have choices to make” Deloitte analyst Chris Richardson told Fairfax Media of the need to engage in new industries and practices for the future.

“We would simply urge a mature debate that weighs safety, cost, environmental impact, community sentiment and other dimensions of the issue, while examining it through the lens of Australian advantage and global opportunity.”

The report, titled ‘Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next wave’  contains a list of industries determined to have the biggest potential to contribute to Australia’s prosperity over the next 20 years.