China is 'taking the lead' as nuclear power makes a comeback says IAEA

Germany, which phased out its nuclear program two years ago, is considering a return to atomic energy through a new laser-based nuclear fusion plant in a bid to cover the country's growing power demand. 

Meanwhile Italy, which abandoned nuclear power roughly three decades ago, is planning a nuclear comeback. In February, the country's Council of Ministers approved a plan to relaunch nuclear energy production with small modular reactors (SMRs).

After years of stagnation, nuclear energy currently accounts for roughly 9 percent of the world's electricity generation – the lowest it has been in 40 years. This trend is now being reversed, says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with nuclear power production projected to at least double by 2050.

"For the first time, since the advent of commercial nuclear energy in the 1950s, you have a demand-driven movement in nuclear," IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi tells CGTN.

A new record level

This year, nuclear power production is expected to reach a new record level, driven in part by a growing demand for electricity caused by the use of artificial intelligence. According to the University of California, one email written by AI uses the same amount of energy needed to power 14 LED light bulbs for an hour.

AI data centers are electricity-hungry facilities, Grossi says, "and most of the big players - Google, Meta, Microsoft - they are signing one after the other contracts with small modular reactor producers." 

As chief of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Grossi doesn't agree with voices saying big nuclear plants are more efficient than SMRs. 

"It's a matter of the needs and the specific situation of a country," he says. "With 300MW maybe you feed a small country... almost completely."

Taking the lead

Meanwhile, China is constructing more than 20 new standard-sized nuclear power reactors which will be added to the country's existing 57 reactors. 

"China is the lead numerically speaking in terms of the increase," Grossi says, adding that the country is set to surpass global leaders France and the United States, "because they have very ambitious plans in this regard." 

Grossi compares China's construction program over three or four years to the way Europe upgraded during the entire 1970s. "That's amazing," he reflects.

There's still intense disagreement over the suitability and fiscal efficiency of nuclear power. Australia's national science agency has calculated that nuclear energy is more expensive than renewables, with SMRs expected to be the most expensive – but Grossi disagrees.

"Don't forget that nuclear has been stigmatized," he says. "Renewables have benefited - and we think it's a good thing - from enormous state support subsidies, tax cuts. Nuclear has not been benefiting from that."