Study: The United States is 15 years behind China in developing advanced nuclear power

The United States is up to 15 years behind China in developing advanced nuclear power. Beijing has a lead thanks to state support for the technology and extensive funding. Reuters reported this today, citing a study by the Washington-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

China has 27 nuclear reactors under construction, with an average construction time of around seven years. This is much shorter than in other countries, the study noted.

The United States has more nuclear power plants than any other country. President Joe Biden’s administration considers this virtually emissions-free source of electricity important for limiting climate change. But after two large plants in Georgia entered service in 2023 and 2024, with their budgets running billions of dollars over and construction delayed by several years, no nuclear reactors are being built in the US. A modern plant that was planned for one of the country’s laboratories was cancelled last year.

Chinese state banks can offer loans at an interest rate of 1.4 percent, far lower than in Western economies. The country’s nuclear industry also benefits from sustained state support and localization strategies, which have enabled China to gain a dominant position in sectors such as renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Last December, the first high-temperature gas-cooled reactor described as a Generation IV reactor began operating in China. The China Nuclear Energy Association says the project involved developing more than 2,200 sets of globally unique equipment, and that domestically produced materials accounted for 93.4 percent of the total.

Advocates of advanced reactors say they are safer and more efficient than current plants. Critics, by contrast, say the technologies and materials used in these reactors could be misused to produce nuclear weapons, or could pose risks in terms of safety and protection against radioactive contamination.

But not everything is trouble-free in China either. The China Nuclear Energy Association has warned that there is a large surplus of nuclear component manufacturing capacity, and that excessive competition is driving down prices and causing losses.

Report author Stephen Ezell said that if the United States is serious about nuclear power, it should develop a comprehensive national strategy that includes greater investment in research and development, identifying and accelerating promising technologies, and supporting the development of a skilled workforce. „America may be behind, but it can certainly catch up technologically,“ Ezell said.