Nuclear Energy Tracker
Nuclear energy is back on the geopolitical agenda. Decarbonisation targets, energy security pressures, and advances in small modular reactor technology have driven a global reconsideration of nuclear capacity — tracking who is building, who is restarting, and who has the regulatory and political conditions to develop new capacity is now a strategic intelligence priority.
Five tiers of nuclear development status
Countries fall into five distinct categories depending on whether they have operational capacity, are actively building, have committed plans, are in the exploratory phase, or are actively phasing out. The tracker monitors all five — including the political and regulatory conditions that determine whether tier transitions are realistic.
Operational
Countries with at least one operational nuclear reactor generating electricity to the grid.
Under Construction
Countries with reactors currently under active construction and on track for commissioning.
Committed Plans
Countries with formal government commitments and active procurement or site selection underway.
Exploratory
Countries with expressed government interest in nuclear capacity but no formal commitment or site selection.
Phase-out
Countries that have formally committed to, or completed, the phase-out of nuclear capacity — including Germany (complete) and Belgium.
What is being built and where
The global reactor fleet spans four generations of technology — from the legacy Gen II reactors that make up the majority of operational capacity to the small modular reactors now approaching commercial deployment. The tracker records the reactor type, generation, and vendor for every unit globally.
Generation II
Legacy fleet- Pressurised water reactors (PWR)
- Boiling water reactors (BWR)
- CANDU heavy water reactors
- RBMK graphite-moderated (Russia)
~70% of global fleet. Most units approaching end-of-life with life extension decisions pending.
Generation III / III+
Current builds- AP1000 (Westinghouse)
- EPR (EDF / Framatome)
- VVER-1200 (Rosatom)
- APR-1400 (KEPCO, South Korea)
- Hualong One (CGN / CNNC)
Majority of new builds globally. Enhanced passive safety, longer design life.
Small Modular Reactors
Emerging- BWRX-300 (GE Hitachi)
- AP300 (Westinghouse)
- SMR-160 (Holtec)
- RITM-200 (Rosatom)
- ACP100 (CNNC)
<300 MWe units. First commercial units expected 2030–2035.
Generation IV / Advanced
R&D stage- Molten salt reactors (MSR)
- High-temperature gas reactors (HTGR)
- Sodium fast reactors
- Thorium reactors
Mostly pre-commercial. Wider deployment post-2040.
Selected country profiles from the Nuclear Energy Tracker. The full dataset — including reactor-level detail, pipeline status, political risk overlay, and SMR deployment scores — is available on subscription.
Largest operational fleets
✓ Public| # | Country | GW op. | Reactors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA | 95.5 | 93 | Stable+ |
| 2 | France | 63.1 | 56 | Rebuilding |
| 3 | China | 57.1 | 56 | Rapid exp. |
| 4 | Russia | 29.4 | 36 | Expanding |
| 5 | S. Korea | 25.7 | 26 | Expanding |
| 6 | Japan | 13.2 | 12 | Restarting |
| 7 | Canada | 13.0 | 19 | SMR plans |
| 8 | Ukraine | 13.1 | 15 | At risk |
| 9 | India | 7.0 | 22 | Expanding |
| 10 | UK | 5.9 | 9 | New build |
Notable emerging & new entrant markets
✓ Public| Country | Tier | Reactor type | Readiness |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE | Operational | APR-1400 | ★★★★★ |
| Turkey | Building | VVER-1200 | ★★★★☆ |
| Poland | Committed | AP1000 | ★★★☆☆ |
| Saudi Arabia | Committed | TBD | ★★★☆☆ |
| Czech Republic | Committed | AP1000 | ★★★★☆ |
| Kenya | Exploratory | SMR TBD | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Ghana | Exploratory | SMR TBD | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Germany | Phase-out | N/A | Complete |
| Belgium | Phase-out | PWR | 2025–2035 |
| Romania | Expanding | CANDU | ★★★★☆ |
Full Nuclear Energy Tracker · 190 countries · reactor-level detail
⬤ Subscription required| Country | Op. GW | Pipeline GW | Reactor types | Pol. risk | SMR score | Openness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 0 | 2.4 | VVER-1200 | Med | ★★☆☆ | High |
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Variables and dimensions
The tracker combines hard technical data — reactor capacity, type, age, and pipeline — with political risk and regulatory intelligence. The openness to nuclear score integrates government policy stance, public opinion, regulatory framework quality, and technical capability.
Installed Capacity & Output
- Total installed capacity (GW)
- Annual electricity generation (TWh)
- Nuclear share of electricity mix (%)
- Capacity factor by unit
- Reactor age and remaining life
Construction Pipeline
- Units under construction (GW)
- Units approved / licenced
- Units planned (site selected)
- Construction timeline and delays
- Reactor vendor and country of origin
Political & Regulatory Environment
- Government policy stance on nuclear
- Nuclear regulatory body independence
- Phase-out legislation status
- Life extension policy framework
- Public opinion on nuclear energy
Development Readiness
- IAEA milestones progress (19-step)
- Grid infrastructure readiness
- Domestic technical capacity
- Financing structure and feasibility
- IAEA Additional Protocol status
SMR Readiness Score
- SMR licensing activity and progress
- Utility offtake commitments
- Government SMR support programmes
- Site suitability and grid connection
- Domestic SMR developer activity
Geopolitical & Supply Risk
- Russian fuel dependency (%)
- Uranium sourcing diversification
- Vendor country geopolitical exposure
- Export control compliance
- Non-proliferation treaty compliance
Economic Competitiveness
- Levelised cost of electricity (LCOE)
- Construction cost overrun history
- Carbon price sensitivity
- Capacity market participation
- Decommissioning liability funding
Openness to Nuclear Score
A composite score (0–100) integrating government policy, regulatory framework quality, public opinion, technical capacity, and international safeguards compliance — the key variable distinguishing countries that could plausibly develop nuclear capacity from those that could not, regardless of stated intentions.
Get full access to the Nuclear Energy Tracker
190 countries. Reactor-level detail. Pipeline tracking, political risk overlay, SMR readiness, and openness scoring. Quarterly updates.