Summary
China is rapidly surpassing the U.S. in nuclear energy, building more reactors at a faster pace and developing advanced technologies like small modular reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled units.
The U.S. struggles with costly, delayed projects, while China benefits from state-backed financing and streamlined construction.
This shift could make China the leading nuclear power producer within a decade, impacting global energy and geopolitical influence.
Meanwhile, the U.S. seeks to revive its nuclear industry, but trade restrictions and outdated infrastructure hinder progress.
None of the US based SMRs have been successful, even with hundreds of millions of funding and regulatory approval from the DOE.
I said developing.
There is nothing wrong with trying to make this work, but a more accurate statement is that the US has failed in its initial efforts to develop SMRs, and the outlook is grim.
With the DOE being gutted and no current commercial path forward, this state is unlikely to change in the near term in the US.
https://www.helionenergy.com/articles/helion-energy-breaks-ground-on-site-of-its-next-generation-fusion-facility-in-everett-washington/
So that’s a fusion reactor, not fission reactor like SMR. It’s both way, way better and way further away than SMR.
I applaud all of them making headway, but none of them are anywhere near as useful as actual solar and actual batteries that are being actually deployed in mass now.