US is far behind China in nuclear energy, says report | Nuclear energy

The United States is between 10 and 15 years behind China in deploying next-generation reactors, the research institute says.

The United States is falling far behind China in nuclear energy, with the world’s largest economy lagging 10 to 15 years behind the Asian giant in deploying next-generation reactors, a report has concluded.

China has 27 nuclear reactors in development, and the average reactor takes seven years to come into operation – much faster than most other countries, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a report released on Sunday.

Between 2008 and 2023, China’s share of nuclear patents increased from 1.3% to 13.4% and the country now leads in the number of nuclear fusion patent applications, the Washington-based research institute said.

Beijing’s rapid rise in this field was due to a “coherent national strategy” to develop nuclear energy, including low-interest financing, feed-in tariffs and streamlined regulatory approval, the institute said.

“China’s government has given considerable priority to building national nuclear reactors as part of Beijing’s broader energy strategy,” the report states.

“Looking ahead, it seems likely that China will use this established domestic capacity as a basis for competitive reactor exports, as its ‘dual circulation’ strategy has achieved in other areas such as electric vehicles and batteries.”

A common narrative that China is “a copier” and the US an “innovator” has encouraged a lackadaisical attitude toward industrial policy, according to the institute.

“First, this assumption is misguided because it is possible for innovators to lose leadership to copiers with lower cost structures, as we have seen in many U.S. industries, including consumer electronics, semiconductors, solar panels, telecommunications equipment, machine tools and, as noted here, quite possibly, nuclear power. Second, it is unclear whether China is a slow copier and always destined to be a follower,” the report states.

The USA continues to be the main country in nuclear energy production, ahead of France and China, with its 94 reactors representing around a third of world production.

But the country has built just two new reactors in the last decade, both arriving years late and billions of dollars over budget.

China opened the world’s first fourth-generation nuclear power plant in Shidao Bay in the eastern province of Shandong in December.

Chinese state media has praised the plant’s reactors, which use gas for cooling instead of pressurized water, as being safer and more efficient than previous generations of nuclear technology.