The Nuclear Revolution: Construction Projects 2025

Nuclear Revolution is experiencing a resurgence in construction activity not seen in decades. From the United States to China, Europe, and even Australia, new projects are underway or on the horizon in 2025. After years of stagnation in some regions, the drive to build reactors has been reignited by climate goals, energy security concerns, and advancing technology. “Today I can confirm that nuclear is making a comeback,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, early this year. This comeback is tangible: roughly 70 reactors are now under construction worldwide and over 100 more are firmly planned. Industry leaders are calling this period a true nuclear renaissance as many countries invest in large-scale reactors and emerging small modular reactors (SMRs) alike.

United States: Reviving the Nuclear Build

In the U.S., 2023 marked a pivotal milestone with the first newly built commercial reactor in over 30 years entering service. Georgia’s Plant Vogtle Unit 3 began operation in mid-2023, delivering about 1,100 MW of capacity after a long construction saga. Its sister unit, Vogtle 4, is scheduled to come online by 2024, and together they will add 2.2 GW of reliable generation – enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes for 60 to 80 years. The Vogtle expansion was plagued by delays and cost overruns (totaling over $30 billion, more than twice the initial estimate), but its completion demonstrates that large reactor projects can still be realized in the U.S. “Building new nuclear units is a complex process — and building the first new nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years makes it that much more complex. Though the road was challenging, it was one we had to travel, and we did it,” said Chris Womack, CEO of Southern Company, which led the Vogtle project. This achievement has been hailed as a major step for America’s nuclear sector, proving that new reactors can be built despite the challenges.

Looking ahead, the United States is laying groundwork for a new generation of reactors. The federal government has identified a need for over 200 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050 to meet clean energy targets, and bipartisan policies are supporting both existing plants and advanced reactor development. Several advanced reactor and SMR initiatives have secured funding – for example, TerraPower’s Natrium fast reactor in Wyoming and NuScale’s VOYGR SMR in Idaho – aiming for deployment in the 2030s. These projects are smaller and use modular designs to reduce construction times. There is a sense of urgency for the U.S. to innovate and build faster, especially as other countries surge ahead. The 2020s are thus a turning point: after a decades-long lull, the U.S. nuclear construction industry is trying to gear up for a sustained revival, armed with lessons learned from Vogtle and new government incentives.

China: Rapid Expansion Leads the World

No country embodies the “nuclear revolution” more than China. China has embarked on the world’s most ambitious nuclear power construction program, making it the global leader in new reactor builds. As of 2025, China operates 58 nuclear reactors (about 57 GWe of capacity) and has around 30 more units actively under construction. These include large Generation III pressurized water reactors like the Hualong One, as well as advanced designs such as the CAP1000 and even demonstration fast reactors. The Chinese government has been approving new projects at a remarkable pace – on the order of 6 to 8 reactors each year. In April 2025, for instance, authorities gave the green light to start building ten additional reactors at multiple sites, representing an investment of over CNY 200 billion (USD $27 billion) in this latest wave alone.

This aggressive build-out is part of China’s long-term strategic plan. Under its current Five-Year Plan and beyond, China intends to construct some 150 new reactors by 2035, which would boost its nuclear capacity to roughly 200 GW (a nearly fourfold increase). Analysts estimate this would require an investment of $400 billion or more, but Beijing views it as essential for clean growth and energy security. The scale is unprecedented – in the past decade, China has nearly tripled its nuclear capacity, accomplishing in ten years what took the United States about forty years. As Fatih Birol noted, China is the main driver of global nuclear growth: “In the last five years, more than 80% of the new nuclear capacity came from China,” he said, adding that China is on track to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest nuclear energy producer before 2030. The country’s success is bolstered by strong state support, streamlined regulatory approvals, and a domestic supply chain that can build reactors efficiently. With its combination of conventional reactors and upcoming advanced models (including the world’s first commercial small modular reactor slated to start by 2026), China is demonstrating how fast nuclear power can be expanded. Its approach – characterized by standardization, stable financing, and long-term planning – is becoming a model that other nations are watching closely.

Europe: New Projects Amid Energy Transition

Europe presents a mixed but increasingly active nuclear construction scene. Several European nations are moving to build new reactors for the first time in decades, driven by climate commitments and the need for stable power. “What our country needs… is the rebirth of France’s nuclear industry,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared in 2022, setting in motion plans for at least six next-generation EPR reactors in France and extending the life of the existing fleet. France – long Europe’s nuclear leader – is reinforcing its commitment to nuclear power to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Similarly, the United Kingdom is constructing Hinkley Point C, a massive twin-EPR project in England that will be Europe’s first new large nuclear station since the 1990s. Once completed in the later 2020s, Hinkley Point C’s two reactors (3.2 GW total) are expected to supply about 7% of the UK’s electricity. Although the project has encountered schedule delays and rising costs (now estimated in the tens of billions of pounds), work is progressing, with major components like reactor vessels and cooling tunnels in place.

Elsewhere in Europe, multiple countries are launching nuclear projects to diversify away from coal and gas. In Eastern Europe, Poland is taking historic steps to build its first nuclear power plants. In 2023, Poland signed contracts with U.S. and European partners to construct AP1000 reactors, aiming for the first unit to be online by 2033. As a newcomer to nuclear energy, Poland sees this as crucial for energy security and emissions reduction. “This is a transformational moment for Poland… the work we are performing here will be a model for other countries that seek decarbonization and energy security,” said Patrick Fragman, CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company, at the signing of Poland’s first plant contract. Other EU members are following suit: the Czech Republic and Hungary have projects in the pipeline to add reactors, Romania is working with international partners on both conventional reactors and SMRs, and even the Netherlands has announced plans to build new large reactors by the 2030s.

At the same time, Europe’s nuclear expansion is not universal – some nations have taken a different path. Germany famously shut down its last operating nuclear stations in 2023, and countries like Austria remain staunchly anti-nuclear. However, a coalition of pro-nuclear EU states led by France has pushed for recognizing nuclear as a green investment, which the EU’s taxonomy now supports under certain conditions. This policy shift is expected to facilitate financing for new nuclear builds across Europe. Importantly, previously stalled projects are reaching fruition: Finland’s Olkiluoto-3 EPR reactor began commercial operation in 2022, adding 1.6 GW of capacity after a long construction saga, and Slovakia’s Mochovce-4 is due to start up in 2025. Europe is also exploring advanced nuclear technologies – the UK and France are investing in SMR designs (like the Rolls-Royce 470 MWe SMR in Britain), and Sweden and Italy have signaled renewed interest in nuclear after years of hesitation. Overall, while Western Europe’s nuclear industry had been in a lull, the momentum is clearly returning. New construction, life-extension of existing plants, and political support in many countries indicate that nuclear remains a key component of Europe’s future infrastructure plans.

Australia: Weighing a Nuclear Revolution

Australia stands out as a developed nation that has never built a nuclear power plant – but even here, the conversation is changing. In 2025, nuclear energy has become a topic of serious debate in Australia’s policy arena, driven by the need to transition away from coal and ensure reliable power. The country’s laws currently ban civilian nuclear reactors, and the government’s official stance favors renewables over nuclear due to cost concerns. Nevertheless, the opposition and some industry voices are advocating a nuclear option, especially the deployment of small modular reactors, as part of Australia’s long-term energy strategy. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has outlined a proposal to construct a series of nuclear plants at existing coal power station sites once those coal units retire. He argues this could provide dependable baseload power and reduce dependence on fossil fuels in the 2030s and beyond. “Our analysis is that we can have nuclear into the system by 2035 to 2037 in the first two sites,” Dutton said, suggesting an ambitious timetable if the necessary approvals and investments fall into place. He noted growing local interest in regions earmarked for reactors, insisting that there is community “understanding of the realities” of the energy transition and support for considering nuclear technology.

Significant hurdles remain before any Australian nuclear project can proceed. Any move to build reactors would require overturning federal and state bans, establishing a regulatory framework, and training a skilled workforce essentially from scratch. Experts have cautioned that entering the nuclear arena would likely take well over a decade; a 2024 report by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences recommended waiting until the 2040s for SMR technology to mature internationally. Even so, the fact that a major political party is promoting nuclear energy – and naming potential sites across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia – marks a dramatic shift in Australian discourse. It coincides with Australia’s broader involvement in nuclear technology through the AUKUS security pact (which will give Australia nuclear-powered submarines). For now, Australia’s nuclear revolution is more aspirational than actual, but the groundwork is being laid. If plans advance, the coming years could see Australia join the list of nations building nuclear infrastructure, ending its long-held nuclear taboo in favor of a new path to decarbonization.

Conclusion: A Global Nuclear Renaissance in Progress

As 2025 unfolds and 2026 approaches, the world’s nuclear construction pipeline is robust and growing. The International Energy Agency projects that nearly 30 GW of new nuclear capacity will come online globally between 2024 and 2026, pushing nuclear generation to a record high. Dozens of reactors are scheduled to start up in the next few years across Asia and Europe, and more countries – from Turkey and Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and Kenya – are pursuing their first nuclear plants. “More than forty countries have concrete plans and projects to build or expand their nuclear capacity… We have never seen this before,” Fatih Birol observed regarding the worldwide trend. While challenges such as high capital costs, lengthy build times, and regulatory hurdles persist, the overall direction is clear. Nuclear energy is firmly back on the construction agenda as a key piece of the future clean energy mix.

This global nuclear renaissance is being driven by the dual imperatives of cutting carbon emissions and securing reliable power. Advances in reactor design and project management are slowly improving construction outcomes, as seen in the lessons from recent projects. Governments and industry consortia are forging international partnerships to share expertise and reduce financial risk – for example, American and European firms teaming up to build reactors in Eastern Europe, or Japan and the United States collaborating on SMR deployment. The commitment was underscored at the 2023 COP28 climate summit, where over 20 countries signed a declaration to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050. Achieving such lofty goals will require sustained effort, but each new project approved or completed builds momentum. In summary, the “nuclear revolution” of 2025 is well underway, transforming the construction landscape for energy infrastructure. From the first concrete poured at a reactor site to the moment a new plant connects to the grid, these projects signal a profound shift: around the world, nuclear power is being re-embraced as a vital foundation for a low-carbon, energy-secure future.