ALBAWABA - The United States is slipping significantly behind China in the field of nuclear energy, according to a study report by Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, which notes that the world's biggest economy is ten to fifteen years behind the Beijing powerhouse in terms of deployment of next-generation reactors.
According to the study by the research institute based in Washington, China is now in the process of constructing 27 nuclear reactors, with a median development timeframe of around seven years, which is significantly shorter than the development timeframes of other nations, thanks to the state-backed technical strategy and massive finance.
On the other hand, the US has only built two reactors in the past decade, launching in Georgia each in 2023 and 2024 with billions of dollars over budget and numerous delays over the years, with no current reactors under development after plans to build a high-tech factory at a U.S. lab were shelved last year.
With its 94 reactors producing roughly one-third of the world's nuclear energy output, the US continues to lead worldwide in the generation of nuclear energy, however China now leads the world in nuclear fusion patent applications. Between 2008 and 2023, China's share of nuclear patents increased from 1.3 percent to 13.4 percent.
“China’s government has assigned considerable priority to domestic nuclear reactor construction as part of Beijing’s broader energy strategy,” the report said, adding that “Looking ahead, China appears likely to use this established domestic capacity as a foundation for competitive reactor exports, much as its ‘dual-circulation’ strategy has accomplished in other areas, such as electric vehicles and batteries.”
