Factbook
Investment
Data curated to May 2025
World Nuclear Investment Factbook
By the Anthropocene Institute
Previous edition: 2024 World Nuclear Investment Factbook.
Nuclear’s revival now shows up in budget lines rather than announcements. This edition, with data curated to May 2025, follows the money: state aid approvals and utility contracts in central Europe, more than USD 10 billion in multinational commitments behind Poland’s first plant, close to $20 billion in US federal and state support, and a field of more than 80 small modular reactor designs competing for the next round of it.
Key figures
80+ designs
Small modular reactor designs in development, spread across 19 countries
As of 2023 · Factbook, SMR chapter
375 GW
SMR capacity that could be installed by 2050 under an ambitious scenario — over half the nuclear capacity needed for net zero
NEA estimate, cited in the Factbook
180 GWe
China’s total installed nuclear capacity projected by 2035, against a 70 GWe operating target for 2025
CNNC projection · 14th Five-Year Plan
$10 bn+
Multinational financing commitments gathered by Poland for its first commercial nuclear plant
Factbook, newcomer states chapter
Small modular reactors
SMRs promise lower upfront cost and shorter construction times through simpler, modular designs. Typically generating under 300 MW — against roughly 1 GW for a conventional reactor — they can modulate output to follow fluctuating demand. Modular construction allows factory fabrication with on-site assembly, reducing non-recurrent costs. Over 80 designs are in development across 19 countries; the NEA estimates up to 375 GW of SMR capacity could be installed by 2050, though commercial deployment at scale may take more than a decade.
Country programmes and financing
China’s 14th Five-Year Plan targets 70 GWe of operating capacity by 2025, and CNNC projects total installed capacity reaching 180 GWe by 2035 — roughly a tenth of the country’s generation. The report notes that planned and under-construction capacity still amounts to only a fraction of China’s coal fleet.
In Europe, the European Commission approved a €7.7 billion state aid mechanism for a new unit at Dukovany, and the Czech government signed a CZK 200 billion contract (about €8.65 billion) with KHNP for two further reactors. Poland has assembled more than USD 10 billion in multinational financing commitments, including pledges from Canada, France and the United States, while the programme’s overall cost could reach PLN 150 billion. In Türkiye, the 4,800 MW Akkuyu project carries an estimated price tag of USD 25 billion and is expected to supply about 10% of national electricity demand.
In the United States, bipartisan measures in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act fund advanced reactor research and the refurbishment of existing facilities, and 19 states have enacted or are considering incentives such as zero-emission credits and tax exemptions — efforts the report totals at nearly $20 billion.
Inside the Factbook
- Investment tables by country and technology, government and private.
- Annual energy-transition investment set against total CO₂ emissions by country.
- SMR and micro-reactor designs, developers and deployment timelines.
- A reactor technology primer covering the main design families in operation.
- Country profiles for established programmes and newcomer states.
How to cite this report
Anthropocene Institute (2025). World Nuclear Investment Factbook (data curated to May 2025).
Sources
- BloombergNEF (2024). Energy Transition Investment Trends.
- International Energy Agency (2024). CO₂ emissions by country.
- OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. Small modular reactor deployment scenarios.
- China National Nuclear Corporation; 14th Five-Year Plan.
- European Commission state aid decisions; national government announcements.