# China is Now Mass-Producing Nuclear Reactors ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors.webp]] **Creator:** The B1M · **Published:** 2026-07-22 · **Length:** 16:28 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTCA6RZmQbY) > Caption source: YouTube English (en-GB) manual captions via yt-dlp (first try; en-orig/en also downloaded). Section headings follow the video's own chapters. Screenshots were grabbed from the 1080p HLS stream (format 270). Host **Fred Mills** and interviewee **Howard Yu** (IMD Future Readiness Centre) are named in The B1M companion article [Why China is Winning The Nuclear Power Race](https://theb1m.com/video/china-nuclear-power-plants) by Adam Savage, not in the captions (the captions only say "Howard"). Captions mis-hear "Hualong One" once as "Hualien 1" and spell Flamanville as "Flammanville"; spellings below follow the article and common usage. Sponsored by Brilliant. Extra footage credited to China News Service, China National Nuclear Corporation, EDF Energy, Georgia Power, ABC News, CGTN, Arirang News, NDTV, PATES, Sky News Australia, WION, Xiang Qi and Xinhua. ## Outline ### 0:00 Intro - **0:00** A nuclear plant mid-construction: usually countries can only build one or two at a time, and the sprawling site shows why. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0005.webp]] - **0:17** The plant on screen is in China — and so are the next ones the host flips through. China is by far the fastest-growing builder of nuclear power infrastructure and is on course to overtake the United States. "The big screaming question is… how?" ### 0:49 Nuclear Growth - **0:50** Viewers in the US, UK or France will know at least one of **Vogtle 3 & 4**, **Flamanville 3** and **Hinkley Point C** — plants that ended up heavily delayed, hugely expensive or far more complicated than planned. - **1:13** If three of the world's big nuclear powers are struggling, you might assume the problem is everywhere. It isn't. - **1:22** Atomic energy generation hit a new global record in **2024**; 2025 and 2026 figures are expected to rise further. - **1:33** Japan has been restarting reactors after **Fukushima**; India and South Korea have been building new ones (on-screen: Korea's **Shin Hanul 1** online about 12 years after construction began; India advancing its three-stage programme; Tokyo wanting to restart a reactor for booming demand). - **2:01** China has made the biggest impact: second in operable reactors, with the US still well ahead — but not for long. ### 2:15 China's Expansion - **2:15** On reactors **under construction**, China is roaring ahead. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0215.webp]] - **2:21** As of **June 2026** it had **39 reactors** in the works — half the global total. When those finish, China will officially replace the US at the top of the table, because America currently isn't building any. - **2:40** Cost: new research from a group of US universities puts China's new-plant cost at about **$2 per watt** — roughly half France's typical figure and more than seven times cheaper than the US at about **$15 per watt**. - **3:05** Cost-per-watt is the industry's own unit: it tracks overruns and lets projects of different sizes be compared. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0320.webp]] #### 3:23 Sponsor: Brilliant (Koji) - **3:23** A brief school-days aside leads into Brilliant's new tutor **Koji**, aimed at kids in grades 5–12 and college: hints and guidance without handing over answers (example: the Thinking in Code course). Free start plus Premium; B1M viewers get up to **20% off** an annual subscription at brilliant.org/TheB1M. - **4:56** Back to how China is building so many reactors. ### 5:03 Why Nuclear? - **5:03** China uses more electricity than any other country, and demand keeps rising: manufacturing, a **data-centre boom**, **electric vehicles**, and a growing **high-speed rail** network. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0503.webp]] - **5:28** Nuclear delivers huge amounts of energy without CO₂ and (unlike renewables) is always available. - **5:40** Howard Yu: China produces a lot of solar and wind, but they are intermittent and still only a single-digit share of what China needs; the majority is **coal**, which Beijing dislikes for pollution reasons. - **5:57** That pressure to curb fossil fuels matters, but Howard says it is **not** Beijing's top agenda. Sustainability is secondary to **energy independence**, sharpened by war in the Middle East. ### 6:29 The Will to Do it - **6:30** Speed and low cost come from a combination of factors. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0629.webp]] - **6:39** China's political system can decide to build many nuclear plants with little pushback — the same pattern as roads, railways and other energy projects. - **7:00** Leaders can set long-term (five-year) national priorities and expect them to happen; democracies face election cycles and shifting public opinion. - **7:20** Howard Yu: whether governments channel resources into areas of national importance; ingredients include **cheap capital**, **stable industrial policy**, and **not reinventing the wheel** every time. ### 7:42 Standardised Approach - **7:42** The nuclear-specific piece is **Hualong One** — China's indigenous next-generation reactor. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0742.webp]] - **7:54** The reactor is where fission makes heat that drives turbines. - **8:07** China once imported Western reactors or used less-advanced domestic models; it now rates Hualong One on a par with the best of the West. - **8:23** Claimed output: almost **10 billion kWh** per reactor per year — enough for about a **million people** in an average developed country. - **8:36** Despite debuting only a few years ago, **over 40 Hualong One** units are operating or under construction. - **8:44** That means few imported parts and a fully **standardised** design that can be repeated project after project — which is why so many Chinese nuclear construction sites look alike even thousands of miles apart. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0840.webp]] - **9:00** Howard: repeatability, clear guidelines and fast approval let China's cluster move from importing Western tech to building its own industry. ### 9:32 Fuqing - **9:32** Case study: **Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant**. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t0932.webp]] - **9:38** Not a brand-new site, but the first to bring a Hualong One online in **2021**, with a second a year later. Four older Chinese predecessor reactors were already there. - **9:53** Construction: first concrete for the containment in **2015**; two years later a **steel dome** of **153 prefabricated parts**, over **300 tonnes**, nearly **47 m** diameter, to protect the reactor and contain a release in an accident. - **10:23** Fuel load and grid connection in **2020**; commercial operation in January **2021** — about **five and a half years** from first pour. China calls that a record for first-of-a-kind third-generation deployment. - **10:45** By comparison, the first new reactor at **Plant Vogtle** in the US took over **ten years**, for a design that had already been built twice before. ### 10:56 Zhangzhou - **10:57** **Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant**: set to be the largest site with **only** Hualong One reactors — two operating, two under construction, two more planned. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t1056.webp]] - **11:14** When all six are complete: **60 billion kWh/year** of clean energy added since work began in **2019**; reports say that could cover **75%** of the energy needs of Zhangzhou and neighbouring **Xiamen**. - **11:36** Fast build does not mean inferior quality or safety: China's methods are aligned with the **IAEA** (International Atomic Energy Agency), which has been reviewing its regulations against global standards — especially for export plants. ### 11:43 Exporting Power - **11:43** China is already building overseas with the new technology. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t1143.webp]] - **12:04** On-screen news: Pakistan and China signed a **$4.8 bn** deal for a nuclear plant. Pakistan is the only customer so far; **Argentina** and others are discussed as possible followers. ### 12:30 Small Modular Reactors - **12:30** More than a dozen nations are racing to develop **small modular reactors (SMRs)** — smaller, factory-built modules that can be deployed more easily. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t1230.webp]] - **12:47** China looks set for the biggest near-term breakthrough: **2026** is when **Linglong One** (Linglong 1), billed as the world's first fully commercial **land-based** SMR, is due online (core module lift shown from 2023). - **13:09** Other SMRs already exist but are on a boat (Russia's **Akademik Lomonosov**) or mainly demonstrators (including a Chinese one). ### 13:19 Nuclear Fusion - **13:20** China is also a frontrunner in **nuclear fusion**: forcing hydrogen atoms together at extreme temperatures inside a **tokamak**. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t1319.webp]] - **13:38** France is building the world's largest experimental fusion reactor; the US plans the first commercial plant — yet China recently held a **steady-state long-pulse plasma** for **1,337 seconds** (~20 minutes), a record, on a tokamak in **Shanghai** (article: **Honghuang 70**). - **14:17** Still research-oriented, but part of a national path toward a pilot fusion reactor and eventual commercial deployment. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t1410.webp]] ### 14:43 Scaling Up - **14:43** Howard Yu: once stabilised, can the nation **scale** it? Fusion remains experimental; SMRs still have to prove scale-up — like quantum computing, it's unclear who will win, but worth watching. ![[images/China-is-Now-Mass-Producing-Nuclear-Reactors-t1443.webp]] - **15:11** Many see nuclear's worldwide comeback as positive: low-carbon versus declining coal. - **15:26** In **2025** coal lost its place as the world's leading electricity source — not to nuclear, but to **renewables** (wind and solar), which China also leads, even while topping the coal league table. - **15:43** If nuclear is key to getting the world's biggest energy consumer off coal, expect a lot more of this. - **15:58** Brilliant sponsor reminder and subscribe call. ## Things Mentioned ### Reactor programmes & plants - **Hualong One**: China's indigenous Gen-III reactor; 40+ operating or under construction; ~10 bn kWh/year claimed per unit. - **Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant**: first Hualong One online 2021 (second 2022); four older predecessor units; 2015 first concrete → ~5.5 years to commercial operation; 153-piece steel dome, >300 t, ~47 m diameter. - **Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant**: largest Hualong-only site planned (6 units); work from 2019; 60 bn kWh/year when complete; ~75% of Zhangzhou + Xiamen energy needs claimed. - **Linglong One (Linglong 1)**: first fully commercial land-based **SMR**, due online **2026**. - **Vogtle 3 & 4** (US), **Flamanville 3** (France), **Hinkley Point C** (UK) — delayed/expensive Western contrasts; Vogtle first new unit >10 years. - Korea **Shin Hanul 1**; Japan's post-Fukushima restarts; India's three-stage nuclear programme. - Russia **Akademik Lomonosov** (floating SMR); Shanghai **Honghuang 70** tokamak (1,337 s plasma record); France's large experimental fusion reactor (ITER context in article). ### Costs & capacity numbers - **39** Chinese reactors under construction as of June 2026 (~half the world total). - Build cost ~**$2/watt** (China) vs ~half France's and ~**$15/watt** (US). - Pakistan–China nuclear deal **$4.8 bn** (on-screen). ### Policy & energy context - Electricity demand: manufacturing, data centres, EVs, high-speed rail. - Coal vs intermittent renewables; **energy independence** as Beijing's top agenda (per Howard Yu). - Five-year plans, cheap capital, stable industrial policy, standardised repeat builds. - **IAEA** alignment for domestic and export plants. - Export customers: **Pakistan** (only so far); interest from **Argentina** and others. - 2025: renewables overtake coal as top global electricity source; China leads both renewables and coal. ### Organisations & sponsor - **China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)**; **IAEA**; US university cost research (unnamed group). - **Brilliant** / **Koji** tutor (paid promotion; brilliant.org/TheB1M, up to 20% off annual Premium). - Companion article on theb1m.com; Get Construction Talking; The World's Best Construction Podcast. ## Biographies - **Fred Mills**: Presenter and co-founder of The B1M; hosts this episode (named in the article, not the captions). - **Howard Yu**: Director of the Future Readiness Centre at **IMD**. In the video he argues Beijing's nuclear push is driven mainly by energy independence rather than carbon alone, lists cheap capital / stable policy / reuse of designs as enablers, and says fusion and SMRs still have to prove they can scale. - **Adam Savage**: Author of The B1M companion article *Why China is Winning The Nuclear Power Race* (article byline on theb1m.com). - **The B1M**: UK-based construction and infrastructure video channel. - **Brilliant**: Ed-tech platform sponsoring the video via its Koji AI tutor.