Is China the Future of Nuclear Energy? feat. Francois Morin

China is currently 3rd in the world in Nuclear Energy capacity
with ambitious plans to have the most reactors in the world by
2030. The Tsinghua climate plan calls for a 7-fold increase by
2050. Is China on the verge of a historic moment like the French
Messmer plan, which saw France accidentally decarbonize by
nuclearizing its grid in 15 years while electrifying a
significant amount of heating and rail transport? The answer is a
very complex "No." 


At great expense in a time of post-civil war, crushing agrarian
poverty and "great leap forward" economic mismanagement, China
managed to join the nuclear weapons club in 1964. It was,
however, very late to develop power reactors, with its first
coming online only in 1991. Since then, China has imported many
different turnkey projects from Europe, the USA, Canada, Russia
while also developing its own indigenous designs culminating in
the Hualong 1.


For a variety of pragmatic reasons, including the transport and
air pollution externalities of coal and the ability to make
nuclear cheap and profitable by very low-interest financing,
nuclear is on the rise in China. However, coal use is still
rising, as is energy demand, with data centre and 5G
infrastructure expected to use as much energy as is currently
produced by the entire Chinese nuclear fleet. 


I am joined by Francois Morin, the China Director of the World
Nuclear Association, to discuss the fascinating past, present,
and future of nuclear energy in China.