How Innovative is China in Nuclear Power?

Speaker: Mr. Stephen Ezell (ITIF)

Date: 10 September 2024

Speaker Session Summary

Analysts have long debated China’s capacity to innovate within its industry and economy. Mr. Ezell presented compelling evidence that China is not only more innovative than most analysts predict, but that its nuclear industry is particularly advanced. According to Ezell, China is likely 10 to 15 years ahead of the United States in deploying fourth-generation nuclear reactors. China is on track to deploy as many reactors in the next decade as the United States has built in the last 40 years. Moreover, China is expected to surpass the United States in nuclear power production by 2030. One factor contributing to Chinese nuclear advancement is China’s “whole of government” (WoG) approach. China is currently investing nearly twice as much as the US government in nuclear energy. However, when including private sector investments in the United States the level of investment between the two countries may reach parity. China’s state-run banks also provide generous loans to Chinese companies interested in nuclear start-ups, covering up to 70% of the cost of Chinese nuclear reactors with interest rates as low as 1.4%.

Mr. Ezell emphasized that for China, nuclear energy represents not only energy security and industrial competitiveness but also national power and some commitment to climate protection. The Chinese government is actively fostering domestic nuclear science and development by launching several national fusion consortiums aimed at creating its “artificial sun” by 2035. China’s contributions to the field are evident in its increased share of global peer-reviewed publications on nuclear science and its growing number of patents related to nuclear fusion technology. However, despite these gains, China still lags behind the United States and Europe in the total number of publications and patents. Ezell also acknowledged that China’s practice of offering economic incentives to patent holders may be inflating its global patent share.

To outcompete China in the nuclear sector, Ezell recommended that the United States develop a coherent national strategy with a WoG approach, create a comprehensive nuclear fusion strategy, and expedite the approval process for building more nuclear power plants.

To read more analysis from Mr. Ezell on China’s innovative nuclear power sector, check out his latest Information Technology & Innovation Foundation article, “How Innovative Is China in Nuclear Power?“

Speaker Session Recording

Briefing Materials

Biography: Stephen Ezell is Vice President, Global Innovation Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and Director of ITIF’s Center for Life Sciences Innovation. He also leads the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance. His areas of expertise include science and technology policy, international competitiveness, trade, and manufacturing. Ezell is the coauthor of Innovating in a Service-Driven Economy: Insights, Application, and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012). Ezell holds a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with an honors certificate from Georgetown’s Landegger International Business Diplomacy program.