A list of terms commonly used in discussion of the nuclear energy industry.
Fuel fabrication is the final stage in nuclear fuel preparation prior to use in a reactor. Nuclear fuel assemblies are specifically designed for particular types of reactors and are made to exacting standards.
Japan needs to import some 90% of its energy requirements. Nuclear energy has been a national strategic priority since 1973. Following the 2011 Fukushima accident this policy was reviewed and reaffirmed.
Decommissioning costs for nuclear power plants, including disposal of associated wastes, contribute only a small fraction of the total cost of electricity generation. Proven techniques and equipment are available to dismantle nuclear facilities.
About 9% of the world's electricity is produced from nuclear energy. Most nuclear electricity is generated using just two kinds of reactor. New designs are coming forward and some are in operation as the first generation reactors come to the end of their operating lives.
Improved designs of nuclear power reactors are currently being developed in several countries. Newer advanced reactors now being built have simpler designs which reduce capital cost. They are more fuel efficient and are inherently safer.
Thorium is more abundant in nature than uranium. It is fertile rather than fissile, and can be used in conjunction with fissile material as nuclear fuel. The use of thorium as a new primary energy source has been a tantalizing prospect for many years.
India has a largely indigenous nuclear power programme and has ambitious plans to expand nuclear capacity. The country has a vision of becoming a world leader in nuclear technology due to its expertise in fast reactors and thorium fuel cycle.
Over one-third of the energy produced in most nuclear power plants comes from plutonium. It is created there as a by-product. Plutonium has occurred naturally, but except for trace quantities it is not now found in the Earth's crust.
Japan has a full nuclear fuel cycle set-up, including enrichment and reprocessing of used fuel for recycle. Nuclear energy has been a national strategic priority since 1973.
The USA's reactors provide about 18% of its electricity. These have a high level of performance.
Lithuania closed its last nuclear reactor, which had been generating 70% of its electricity, at the end of 2009. Electricity was a major export until the closure of Lithuania's nuclear plant.
The USA is reviving its uranium mining, though almost all the uranium used in US commercial reactors is imported. A new centrifuge enrichment plant is now operating to replace very old and inefficient capacity. Implementation of national policy on high-level waste disposal remains blocked politically, but there are now two major proposals for long-term storage of it.
An overview of key global results.
A single 485 MWe PWR operates at Borssele.
Sweden's nuclear power reactors provide about 30% of its electricity. In November 2023 the government announced plans to construct two large-scale reactors by 2035 and the equivalent of 10 new reactors, including small modular reactors, by 2045.
An overview of key global results, with high resolution images.
Germany until March 2011 obtained one-quarter of its electricity from nuclear energy, using 17 reactors. Following the Fukushima accident in Japan in March 2011, eight reactors shut down immediately with the remaining reactors phased out by April 2023.
Used nuclear fuel has long been reprocessed to extract fissile materials for recycling and to reduce the volume of high-level wastes. New reprocessing technologies are being developed to be deployed in conjunction with fast neutron reactors which will burn all long-lived actinides.
Pakistan has six operating reactors. Because Pakistan is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due to its weapons programme, it is largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which hinders its development of civil nuclear energy.
Spain generates about a fifth of its electricity from nuclear power. Its first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1968. There are plans for renewed uranium mining. Government commitment to nuclear energy has been uncertain.
Explanations of initialisms, acronoyms and other abbreviations
Abbreviations used in this report.
One 485 MWe PWR operates at Borsselle, with plans for two more reactors.
The nuclear fuel cycle is the series of industrial processes which involve the production of electricity from uranium in nuclear power reactors. Uranium is a relatively common element that is found throughout the world.
Like coal and gas-fired plants, nuclear power plants use cooling to condense the steam used to drive the turbines that generate the electricity. Once-through, recirculating or dry cooling may be used. Most nuclear plants also use water to transfer heat from the reactor core.
Turkey has had plans for establishing nuclear power generation since 1970. The country's first nuclear power plant, at Akkuyu, commenced construction in April 2018.
Life-cycle analysis is useful for comparing net energy yields from different methods of electricity generation. Nuclear power shows up very well as a net provider of energy. External costs, evaluated as part of life-cycle assessment, strongly favour nuclear over coal-fired generation.
China has become self-sufficient in most aspects of the fuel cycle. The country aims to produce one-third of its uranium domestically, obtain one-third through foreign equity in mines and joint ventures overseas, and to purchase one-third on the open market.
An international task force is developing six nuclear reactor technologies for deployment between 2020 and 2030. Four are fast neutron reactors. All six systems represent advances in sustainability, economics, safety, reliability and proliferation-resistance.
British scientists were preeminent in the development of nuclear energy through to the early 1940s and a domestic nuclear industry grew to provide up to one third of electricity before starting to gradually retire. Now the country is working to build a new wave of power plants.
Italy had four operating nuclear power reactors but shut the last two down following the Chernobyl accident. About 5% of the electricity consumed in Italy is from nuclear power – all imported.
Radioactive material accounts for a very small proportion of all dangerous material shipped each year. About 20 million consignments of radioactive material are transported each year on public roads, railways, and ships.
The UK has nine operable reactors at seven sites; eight are AGRs, with one PWR at Sizewell.
A critical issue for accelerating nuclear power plant construction is the availability of heavy engineering plants to make the reactor components, especially for those units of more than 1100 MWe. There has been considerable new investment in major forges and manufacturing plants.
France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. This is due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of nuclear generation.
The science of atomic radiation, atomic change and nuclear fission was developed from 1895 to 1945. From 1945 attention was given to harnessing this energy in a controlled fashion for naval propulsion and for making electricity.
There is strong interest in small and simpler units for generating electricity from nuclear power, and for process heat. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) represent a broad suite of designs that seek to apply the principles of modularity, factory fabrication, and serial production to nuclear energy.
Argentina has three operable nuclear reactors generating about 5% of its electricity. Its first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1974.
South Korea is among the world's most prominent nuclear energy countries, and exports its technology widely. Today 26 reactors provide about one-third of South Korea's electricity from 26 GWe of plant.
Finland has five operating nuclear reactors. Provisions for radioactive waste disposal are well-advanced.
About 15% of Canada's electricity comes from nuclear power. For many years Canada has been a leader in nuclear research and technology, as well as a high proportion of the world supply of radioisotopes used in medical diagnosis and cancer therapy.
The UK has nine operable reactors at five sites; eight are advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), with one pressurized water reactor (PWR) at Sizewell.
Lithium-7 has two important uses in nuclear power due to its relative transparency to neutrons. As hydroxide it is necessary in small quantities for safe operation in PWR cooling systems as a pH stabilizer, and as a fluoride it is also expected to come into much greater demand for molten salt reactors.
China has become largely self-sufficient in reactor design and construction, as well as other aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. The strong impetus for nuclear power in China is increasingly due to air pollution from coal-fired plants.
Russia is moving steadily forward with plans for an expanded role of nuclear energy, including development of new reactor technology. Exports of nuclear goods and services are a major Russian policy and economic objective.
Most low-level radioactive waste is typically sent to land-based disposal immediately following its packaging. Many long-term waste management options have been investigated worldwide which seek to provide publicly acceptable, safe, and environmentally sound solutions to the management of intermediate-level waste and high-level radioactive waste.
Nuclear Power in the USA Appendix 2: Power Plant Purchases, Mergers and Management Rationalisation
Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel provides about 2% of the new nuclear fuel used today. MOX fuel is manufactured from plutonium recovered from used reactor fuel. MOX fuel also provides a means of burning weapons-grade plutonium (from military sources) to produce electricity.
The Netherlands has one nuclear reactor generating a small amount of its electricity. A previous decision to phase out nuclear power has been reversed. Public and political support is increasing for expanding nuclear energy.
Belgium has three operable nuclear reactors. Belgium's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1974. A 2003 federal law requiring the phase-out of nuclear energy was repealed in May 2025.
Over 160 ships are powered by more than 200 small nuclear reactors. Most are submarines, but they range from icebreakers to aircraft carriers. In future, constraints on fossil fuel use in transport may bring marine nuclear propulsion into more widespread use.
Potable water is in short supply in many parts of the world. Lack of it is set to become a constraint on development in some areas. Nuclear energy is already being used for desalination, and has the potential for much greater use.
The Fukushima Daiichi reactors are GE boiling water reactors (BWR) of an early (1960s) design supplied by GE, Toshiba and Hitachi, with what is known as a Mark I containment.
Vietnam has considered establishing nuclear power generation since 1995, and firm proposals surfaced in 2006. In November 2016 these plans were cancelled.
Weapons-grade uranium and plutonium is being made available for use as civil fuel. Highly-enriched uranium from weapons stockpiles met about 13% of world reactor requirements through to 2013.
Green technologies are being deployed with the aim of making modern societies more sustainable. It is therefore essential to consider the mineral resource and physical mining realities associated with the energy transition.
Molten salt reactor use molten fluoride salts as primary coolant, at low pressure. Much of the interest today in reviving the MSR concept relates to using thorium (to breed fissile uranium-233).
A major increase in uranium mine production is planned. There is increasing international involvement in parts of Russia's fuel cycle. Exports are a major Russian policy and economic objective.
Most of the commercial nuclear power reactors in the world today require uranium 'enriched' in the U-235 isotope for their fuel. The commercial process employed for this enrichment involves gaseous uranium hexafluoride in centrifuges.
Switzerland has four operational nuclear reactors. Two large new units were planned. However, in June 2011 parliament resolved not to replace any reactors, and hence to phase out nuclear power by 2034.
Energy conversion: the heat values of uranium and various fossil fuels.
Most of the current fleet of reactors in the UK is due to retire by 2030. Construction has commenced on the first of a new generation of plants.
Construction of the Bataan nuclear plant in the Philippines commenced in 1976 and was completed in 1984. Following the Chernobyl accident in April 1986, the new President, Corazon Aquino, decided not to commission the 621 MWe Westinghouse reactor. The country is considering reviving the Bataan project, as well as the possibility of a small modular reactor.
Indonesia's population of about 260 million is served by power generation capacity of only about 95 GWe. Indonesia has a greater depth of experience and infrastructure in nuclear technology than any other country in southeast Asia.
From the outset, there has been a strong awareness of the potential hazard of both nuclear criticality and release of radioactive materials. Both engineering and operation are designed accordingly.
Slovakia has five nuclear reactors generating half of its electricity and one more under construction. Slovakia's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1972.
Unit 1 of Belarus's first nuclear power plant was connected to the grid in November 2020. A second VVER-1200 unit was connected to the grid in May 2023.
Nuclear power is cost competitive with other forms of electricity generation, except where there is direct access to low-cost fossil fuels. In assessing the economics of nuclear power, decommissioning and waste disposal costs are fully taken into account.
Nuclear Power in Sweden Appendix 1
Nuclear energy is a clean, sustainable energy source. It is essential for meeting the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs).
A compendium of radioactive waste management policies in different countries, and how they are funded.
Nuclear waste is neither particularly hazardous nor hard to manage relative to other toxic industrial wastes. The amount of radioactive waste is very small relative to wastes produced by fossil fuel electricity generation. Safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste are technically proven.
In 1979 a cooling malfunction caused part of the core to melt at Three Mile Island 2. The reactor was destroyed. Some radioactive gas was released a couple of days after the accident, but not enough to cause any dose above background levels.
The government is heavily involved through safety and environmental regulations, R&D funding, and setting national energy goals. The commitment to nuclear power as part of the USA's long-term energy strategy continues with the Trump administration.
Like nuclear power, renewable energy provides electricity without significant carbon dioxide emissions. However, solar and wind require back-up generating capacity due to their intermittent nature.
California has a large and growing population and a flourishing economy, with a major high-technology sector. Electricity demand has been rising steadily for many years. In 2000-01 there was an acute electricity supply crisis, triggered by several factors. In 2020 there was another supply crisis.
Fast neutron reactors offer the prospect of vastly more efficient use of uranium resources and the ability to burn actinides which are otherwise the long-lived component of high-level nuclear waste. Some 400 reactor-years' experience has been gained in operating them.
Nuclear Power in the USA Appendix 3 The US Department of Energy (DOE) has made provision for companies to apply for combined construction and operating licences (COLs) for new nuclear power plants, with costs being shared by DOE (see page on US Nuclear Policy). COL applications for 26 new nuclear reactors at 17 sites had been submitted to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by mid-2009. The NRC expects applications for a further seven reactors by 2010.
Brazil has two nuclear reactors generating about 3% of its electricity. Construction began on a third reactor in 2010, was suspended in 2015, recommenced in November 2022, but suspended again in April 2023. The country's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1982.
Uranium is a very heavy metal which can be used as an abundant source of concentrated energy. Uranium occurs in most rocks in concentrations of 2 to 4 parts per million and is as common in the Earth's crust as tin, tungsten and molybdenum.
The current fleet of nuclear reactors runs primarily on uranium fuel enriched up to 5% uranium-235 (U-235). High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) is defined as uranium enriched to greater than 5% and less than 20% U-235. Applications for HALEU are today limited to research reactors and medical isotope production. However, HALEU will be needed for many advanced power reactor fuels, and more than half of the small modular reactor (SMR) designs in development.
The Czech Republic has six nuclear reactors generating about one-third of its electricity. Its first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1985. Government commitment to the future of nuclear energy is strong.
South Africa has two nuclear reactors generating 5% of its electricity. South Africa's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1984. Government commitment to the future of nuclear energy has been strong, but financial constraints are severe.
Kazakhstan has 14% of the world's uranium resources. It is the world's leading uranium producer. The government is committed to increased uranium exports, and is considering future options for nuclear power.
About 30 countries are actively considering, planning or starting nuclear power programmes.
Bulgaria has two nuclear reactors generating about one-third of its electricity. Bulgaria's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1974. Government commitment to the future of nuclear energy is strong.
Following many years of construction, Iran's first nuclear power reactor started up in 2011. Two further large Russian-designed units are planned, the first of which commenced construction in November 2019. The country also has a major programme developing uranium enrichment, and this was concealed for many years.
Substantial amounts have been invested in energy R&D over the last 30 years, much directed at developing nuclear energy. Nowhere in the world is nuclear power subsidised per unit of production. In some countries however it is taxed because production costs are so low.
Uranium is a relatively common metal, found in rocks and seawater. Economic concentrations of it are not uncommon.
Powerful accelerators may be linked to conventional nuclear reactor technology in an accelerator-driven system (ADS) to transmute long-lived radioisotopes in used nuclear fuel into shorter-lived fission products.
Slovenia has a single reactor operating at Krško.
Taiwan shut down its last operating nuclear reactor in May 2025. It was constructing two advanced reactors, but this project was cancelled. Imports account for over 95% of the energy, and are vital to the rapidly industrializing economy.
Mainland China has 58 operable reactors with a total capacity of 57 GWe.
This information paper describes in detail the causes of the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011 and the actions taken since.
Slovenia has a single reactor operating at Krško
Pakistan has six operating nuclear power reactors at two sites: Chashma and Karachi.
Hydrogen is widely seen as a future transport fuel. Nuclear energy can be used to make hydrogen electrolytically, and in the future high-temperature reactors are likely to be used to make it thermochemically.
Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy – it has 15 reactors generating about half of its electricity.