Nuclear power is playing in the big leagues when it comes to attracting capital around the world.
Each year, the International Energy Agency (IEA), an independent intergovernmental organization formed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), counts up the dollars flowing into energy globally. This year, nuclear energy technologies are expected to pull in $74B.
Nuclear spending has risen 50% over the past five years, according to the IEA report.
- On the clean energy side, that puts nuclear behind only renewables, energy efficiency and end-use tech, and grids and storage as an investment area.
- Fossil fuels are still attracting more capital than nuclear, with $535B this year expected to go to oil, $365B to natural gas, and $248B to coal.
Nuclear spending has risen 50% over the past five years, according to the IEA report.
Clean power wins out: In 2025, the IEA expects total capital funneling to the energy sector to reach $3.3T. (That’s a T, representing a 2% real YoY increase in spending.) Investments into clean energy—including renewables, nuclear, battery storage, etc.—account for $2.2T, double the $1.1T going to oil, natural gas, and coal.
China goes all in: On pretty much every metric, China leads the world in energy spending. While the US is generally a net exporter of fossil fuel energy, China is a net importer, and it’s dead set on securing its own domestic energy supply.
In nuclear, that’s played out as massive expansion of large light water reactor development, investment into small reactor tech, and funding for fusion. But it doesn’t stop there. China is expected to provide 31% of the world’s investment into clean energy this year, as opposed to the US’ 19%.
- That adds up to $627B spent by China on clean energy tech this year, including $24B on nuclear.
- The US is spending $400B on clean energy overall and $11B on nuclear—less than it spent in 2015.
- FWIW, fossil fuel spending for China and the US totals $257B and $187B, respectively.
Lead Reporter of Ignition
