The Global Race for Advanced Nuclear Is On

The report updates a 2021 map of advanced nuclear projects, noting an increase from over 30 to nearly 80 demonstrations globally. While North America has seen significant commercial deals and licensing milestones, China and Russia lead in actual construction and operation. The authors argue that the U.S. must accelerate federal support for fuel supply and licensing to avoid falling further behind in a geopolitical and clean energy race.

• The number of tracked advanced nuclear demonstration projects has grown from more than 30 in 2021 to nearly 80 in 2024.
• China and Russia are the global leaders in the construction and operation of advanced reactors, driven by long-term government funding. China's high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR-PM) in Shidao Bay entered commercial service in December 2023, and its sodium-cooled fast reactor began low-power operations in late 2023.
• North America has seen significant progress in commercialization and licensing, highlighted by a $500 million investment from Amazon into X-energy and a partnership between Google and Kairos Power for up to 500 MW of reactors by 2035.
• In the United States, the NRC approved a construction permit in December 2023 for Kairos Power’s Hermes Demonstration Reactor, marking the first non-light water reactor approved for construction in the U.S. in over 50 years.
• An ITIF report from June 2024 estimates that China is likely 10 to 15 years ahead of the United States in the ability to deploy fourth-generation nuclear reactors at scale.
• Advanced nuclear interest is expanding into Africa and Central Asia, with Ghana signing a commercial agreement for a NuScale-based SMR and Uzbekistan signing an agreement with Rosatom for a 330MWe plant based on RITM-200 technology planned for 2029.

APA

Ahn, A., Teplinsky, E., McMurray, N., Qvist, M., Cothron, E., Merrifield, J., Houghtalen, N., Kincer, J., & Tolliver, C. (2024). The Global Race for Advanced Nuclear Is On. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/resource/global-race-advanced-nuclear/

Chicago

Ahn, Alan, Elina Teplinsky, Nicholas McMurray, Malwina Qvist, Erik Cothron, Jeff Merrifield, Natalie Houghtalen, Jacob Kincer, and Clarence Tolliver. The Global Race for Advanced Nuclear Is On. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://www.catf.us/resource/global-race-advanced-nuclear/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ahn |first1=Alan |last2=Teplinsky |first2=Elina |last3=McMurray |first3=Nicholas |last4=Qvist |first4=Malwina |last5=Cothron |first5=Erik |last6=Merrifield |first6=Jeff |last7=Houghtalen |first7=Natalie |last8=Kincer |first8=Jacob |last9=Tolliver |first9=Clarence |title=The Global Race for Advanced Nuclear Is On |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=24 October 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/global-race-advanced-nuclear/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ahn2024global, author = {Ahn, Alan and Teplinsky, Elina and McMurray, Nicholas and Qvist, Malwina and Cothron, Erik and Merrifield, Jeff and Houghtalen, Natalie and Kincer, Jacob and Tolliver, Clarence}, title = {{The Global Race for Advanced Nuclear Is On}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/global-race-advanced-nuclear/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }