The 2025 Spring International Forum on Sustainable Nuclear Energy Development, hosted by the China Nuclear Energy Association, opened in Beijing on April 27. The "China Nuclear Energy Development Report (2025)" released during the forum shows that the global nuclear energy development is experiencing a comprehensive revival. According to the current construction speed and rhythm, China's operational nuclear power installed capacity will rank first in the world before 2030. It is estimated that by 2040, China's nuclear power installed capacity will reach 200 million kilowatts, accounting for approximately 10% of the total power generation.
It is reported that the "China Nuclear Energy Development Report", as an annual regular public publication, discloses important annual data on China's nuclear energy development to the public, objectively, fairly and professionally comprehensively reflecting and analyzing the development status and trends of China's nuclear energy industry. The "China Nuclear Energy Development Report (2025)" is jointly edited by the China Nuclear Energy Association, the China Nuclear Strategic Planning Research Institute, and the CIIC Science and Technology Evaluation Research Center. It is compiled by an expert team composed of leading industry groups.
The following is an excerpt from the report content:
China's nuclear energy industry has achieved new accomplishments in high-quality development
The installed capacity of nuclear power plants in operation and under construction has continued to grow. By the end of 2024, China had 57 commercial nuclear power units in operation, with a total installed capacity of 59.76 million kilowatts, ranking third in the world. In 2024, the average utilization hours of nuclear power equipment throughout the year were 7,797 hours, with a cumulative nuclear power generation of 444.7 billion kilowatt-hours, ranking second globally and accounting for 4.72% of the country's cumulative power generation. The annual equivalent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions was approximately 334 million tons, among which the nuclear power generation in Fujian and Liaoning provinces accounted for more than 20%. In 2024, China's commercial nuclear power units continued to operate safely and stably, with no operational events at or above the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) level 1. Compared with the world's major nuclear power countries, China ranked first in both the number and average value of nuclear power units with a full score in the WANO comprehensive Index. Actively expand comprehensive utilization such as nuclear heating. During the 2024-2025 heating season, the area of nuclear heating will reach 14.02 million square meters. The "Heqi No.1" heating project, the first in the country to supply steam to a petrochemical park, has been completed and put into operation. By the end of 2024, China had 28 nuclear power units under construction with a total installed capacity of 33.7 million kilowatts. The installed capacity of the units under construction has remained the world's largest for 18 consecutive years. In 2024, the completed investment in nuclear power engineering construction reached 146.9 billion yuan, an increase of 52 billion yuan compared with the previous year, setting a new historical record.
The capabilities of the nuclear energy industry chain and supply chain have continued to improve. We will continue to strengthen the capacity layout of uranium mines, with northern sandstone as the main component and southern hard rock as a supplement. The construction of the largest domestic natural uranium production base in terms of capacity, "Guoyou No.1", has started. A uranium purification and conversion capacity of ten thousand tons has been formed. The uranium purification and conversion base and the uranium enrichment production line are operating stably, and the expansion of uranium enrichment capacity is advancing in an orderly manner. The processing capacity of nuclear fuel elements has ranked among the world's top, capable of meeting the demands of nuclear fuel elements for pressurized water reactors, heavy water reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and other units, and continuously promoting the application of CF3 self-owned brand nuclear fuel assemblies. The off-stack storage capacity of spent fuel combining dry and wet methods has been continuously enhanced, the construction of spent fuel reprocessing capacity has been steadily advanced, and a disposal pattern of "regional + centralized" for medium and low-level waste has been formed. In terms of nuclear power equipment manufacturing, China has achieved 100% domestic production of key nuclear power main equipment and independent control of key component technologies. By 2024, a total of 114 sets of nuclear power main equipment were delivered domestically, doubling the number in 2023.
The nuclear technology application industry is developing rapidly. Significant breakthroughs have been made in the independent supply capacity of isotopes. A variety of key medical isotopes such as lutetium-177, yttrium-90, radium-223, and iodine-125 have achieved batch production, and the independent production of stable isotopes such as high-abundance 13CO gas has made rapid progress. The series supply capacity of small tandem accelerators such as 2×1.7MeV and 2×3MeV has been broken through, and the first domestic S-band 10MeV/32kW high-power industrial irradiation electron accelerator has been successfully developed. The production layout system of radiopharmaceuticals has been further improved. The targeted diagnosis and treatment medicine production bases in North China and East China have entered the stage of production line installation and obtaining radiation safety licenses. A total of 37 nuclear medicine centers have been set up across the country, achieving full coverage of the production and sales of radiopharmaceuticals in major regions of the country. Several new radioactive drugs, including the first PET imaging agent for bone imaging in China - sodium fluoride [18F] injection, have been approved for marketing.
New progress has been made in nuclear energy technological innovation in our country
Advanced nuclear energy technology is accelerating its development in multiple fields. The first reactor of the National Science and technology major project "Hualong One" demonstration project was completed and put into operation, and technological improvement and optimization were promoted to form the overall implementation plan of "Hualong One +". Continuously carry out research and development as well as innovation in the operation and maintenance technology of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Based on the experience of engineering construction and operation and maintenance, Hualong One has continuously carried out technical improvement and optimization, and completed the preliminary design of the subsequent model standards and the preliminary safety analysis. The integrated closed-cycle fast reactor nuclear energy system has made a series of important advancements in aspects such as reactors, metallic fuels, and dry processing technologies. The 2MWt liquid fuel thorium-based molten salt experimental reactor achieved full-power operation. The outer dome of the "Linglong One" was successfully hoisted. The research and development of modular multi-functional small reactors, floating reactors, gas-cooled micro reactors, etc. is advancing in an orderly manner. Fusion devices such as China's Huan Liu 3, Dongfang Chao Huan and Honghuang 70 have continuously achieved new breakthroughs in experiments.
Nuclear fuel cycle technology continues to innovate. We have strengthened technological research and development in uranium exploration, mining and metallurgy, and established a prospecting technology system for sandstone-type uranium deposits in giant composite basins. The research and development of domestic advanced fuel assemblies such as SAF-14, STEP-12C, and CF-3S have been continuously advanced. The ATF accident-resistant fuel assembly completed the full-cycle commercial reactor operation test after three years. In terms of high-level radioactive waste treatment technology, the independently developed two-step cold crucible glass solidification technology is ready for engineering application. The problem of the glass curing formula for the ceramic electric melting furnace with waste liquid from the power stacking has been successfully overcome.
Meanwhile, China's international cooperation in nuclear energy has continuously made new progress. The construction of Unit 5 (C-5) of the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan, which adopts the "Hualong One" technology, has started. China has exported a total of 7 nuclear power units. We will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), deeply participate in the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, and open 12 nuclear research facilities and experimental platforms, including the China Advanced Research Reactor, to the world. Nuclear energy cooperation between China and Russia, China and France, China and Kazakhstan, etc. has been continuously expanded and deepened. The Rosin and Hushan uranium mines developed by China in Namibia in Africa have been operating safely and stably. Project cooperation has been carried out with countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, Hungary, Poland and Nigeria in the application fields of nuclear technology such as nuclear medicine, nuclear agriculture and industrial irradiation.
