CNEA: China advancing the world's largest nuclear power programme

The image used in this article is a stock image for referential purposes only.

China now possesses the world's largest nuclear power development programme, including units in operation, plants under construction, and approvals issued for new plants, according to the China Nuclear Energy Development Report 2026 released by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA).

Currently, the country has a total of 112 nuclear units either operating or in various stages of readiness, with a combined capacity of 125 million kW, the largest globally, the report maintained.

For the global aluminium value-chain 2026 outlook, book our exclusive report “Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026"

Among them, 60 units are already in commercial operation, with a combined installed capacity of 64 million kW, the third largest worldwide. In addition, 36 units are under construction accounting for roughly half of the global total and another 16 units have been approved, highlighting a strong development prospect for the coming years.

In 2026 alone, China is projected to commission seven new units, adding around 5 million kW of capacity. This represents a large share of the 15 units and 12 million kW scheduled to come online globally this year, according to BloombergNEF.

Don't miss out- Buyers are looking for your products on our B2B platform

By 2030, the country is on track to surpass the US to become the world's largest nuclear power producer in terms of operational capacity. By 2040, China's installed nuclear capacity is expected to reach 200 million kW believes Yang Changli, rotating chairman of the association.

The rapid expansion is being driven by rising demand for stable, low-carbon baseload power, particularly from energy-intensive emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, according to Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

Lin argues that nuclear power is well-suited to support high-load, continuous operations like data centres due to its rellability and zero-carbon attributes, China Dally quotes him as saying.

This trend is reinforced by global demand growth. The International Energy Agency estimates that worldwide IT-related electricity load will increase by 106 million kW between 2025 and 2030, largely driven by the expansion of generative Al and large-scale model training.

Despite the rapid buildout, nuclear power still accounts for a relatively small share of China's energy mix. During this year's first quarter, nuclear generation reached 112.91 billion kWh, representing just 4.7 per cent of all electricity that China produced during the three months, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

Note: This news is published under a content and exchange agreement with Mysteel