Nuclear-power production capacity expected to increase globally

The International Atomic Energy Agency expects global nuclear-power production capacity to increase by 2.5 times by 2050 from the current 378.1 gigawatts generated by 419 nuclear power plants in 32 countries.

Meanwhile, more than 62 nuclear power plants are currently under construction. This proves that nuclear power has been trending worldwide despite challenges of high construction costs and people’s concerns over safety.

According to Statista, the US has the highest number of nuclear power plants at 94, followed by China (56), France (56), Russia (36), Japan (33), South Korea (26), India (23), Canada (19), Ukraine (15) and the United Kingdom (9).

Another reason behind surging nuclear-power demand is the global transition towards artificial intelligence (AI), as a large amount of clean electricity is required to serve data centres in a sustainable manner.

For instance, US tech giant Microsoft has undertaken a 20-year contract to reopen Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania despite its partial nuclear meltdown in 1979.

Meanwhile, a pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions was announced during the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December 2023.

The pledge received support from 20 countries in 2023 before increasing to 31 countries during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2024. These countries included the US, Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.