Race of the superpowers The invisible nuclear duel between China and the USA - and why the moon is involved
China is building more nuclear power plants than any other country - and is taking the lead in the race with the USA. This time, the new nuclear race between the superpowers even extends as far as the moon.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- China is building nuclear power plants faster and cheaper than the West - and is overtaking the USA in the new nuclear race for dominance of the global market.
- While China is scoring points with standardized reactors, state subsidies and exports, the USA is focusing on innovation, but is lagging behind in terms of speed and industrial capacity.
- The nuclear race even extends to the moon, where both the USA and China want to build reactors.
The nuclear arms race between the superpowers during the Cold War is long gone. In the 21st century, however, a new nuclear race is emerging between the two most economically influential nations in the world: China and the USA are vying for nuclear dominance.
China wants to overtake the USA in the expansion of civilian nuclear power by 2030 - and is well in the race: They are already in the lead when it comes to construction, with more reactors currently under construction there than in the rest of the world combined. Hundreds more are set to follow by the middle of the century, as the New York Times reports.
"The Chinese are very, very fast," says Mark Hibbs, nuclear expert at the Carnegie Foundation. In an interview with the US newspaper, he says: "They want to show the world that their program is unstoppable." According to the experts, China is pursuing a strategy that focuses on standardization, speed and exports.
Standardized reactors and subsidies
In contrast to the West, China is relying on a small number of standardized reactor types, which are primarily based on advanced French and US models. These reactors are built at high speed - usually within five to six years, which is around half the time of comparable Western projects.
By comparison, the only two reactors built in the USA since 2000 took eleven years and cost 35 billion dollars, according to the NYT.
In addition, there are massive state subsidies: cheap loans, guaranteed power purchase and centrally controlled supply chains. For example, according to NYT research, gigantic reactor pressure vessels are mass-produced in a plant near Shanghai - and delivered directly to construction sites by special teams.
USA relies on private innovation
The United States, on the other hand, is focusing on small modular reactors (SMRs) and private innovation. There is support from tech companies such as Google, Amazon and OpenAI, which see nuclear power as a solution to their gigantic and growing energy needs. However, it is likely to be years before such reactors go into operation.
The Trump administration wants to speed up this work, for example by relaxing the regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which certifies the safety of reactors before they are built. Critics of the authority say it has become too inflexible - especially with regard to advanced reactors that are less prone to meltdowns.
Trump's Energy Secretary is in any case optimistic: "The US shines in entrepreneurial capitalist competition - that's our advantage over China," the NYT quotes Chris Wright as saying.
Is nuclear energy returning in a big way?
According to the newspaper, however, critics fear that the US is relying too heavily on technological breakthroughs instead of focusing on the financing, expertise and infrastructure needed to build plants, as China is doing.
There is no reason why the US cannot expand nuclear energy, Stephen Ezell of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation told the New York Times. "But will it just be a few small reactors powering a few data centers, or will the government seriously try to bring back nuclear power as a major source of electricity?"
The aim is to dominate the global market
Meanwhile, according to experts, Beijing is pursuing a larger goal: the rapidly advancing nuclear program is primarily aimed at dominating the global market. Chinese companies are said to have built six reactors in Pakistan, for example, and there are plans to export more.
At the same time, China is to achieve breakthroughs in next-generation nuclear technologies. For example, a gas-cooled model is being developed that can supply heat and steam for heavy industry in addition to electricity. The Middle Kingdom is also investing heavily in fusion, a potentially unlimited source of clean energy once tamed.
China is 10 to 15 years ahead
A recent report quoted by the NYT comes to a conclusion that is not exactly pleasing for the USA: When it comes to deploying next-generation reactors on a large scale, China is about 10 to 15 years ahead of the United States, it says.
"The world is currently experiencing a new kind of global race", is also the assessment of "Foreign Affairs". It is a race for control of the global nuclear energy market, in which Russia is also involved alongside China and the USA, according to the magazine.
Race to the moon
Just how far-reaching and geopolitically challenging this battle for the atom potentially is is shown not only by the parallel armaments in the military sector, where China, for example, has also been increasing the number of its nuclear warheads for years.
A recent decision by the US space agency NASA also illustrates the explosive nature of the issue: a nuclear reactor is to be installed on the moon by 2030. A prototype with at least 100 kilowatts of power, weighing less than six tons, is to secure the Artemis moon missions.
According to media reports, this project is a direct response to China's plans for its own nuclear-powered moon base. The USA fears being excluded from strategically important zones as a result of China's advance.
It seems that the new nuclear race has long since crossed the borders of our globe.
