▲ The venue of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, on July 17 (local time)
China is responding to the explosive power demand of data centers fueled by artificial intelligence by building next-generation reactors and accelerating the development of nuclear fusion technology, the Financial Times (FT) reported on September 21 (local time).
According to consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, China's data center power consumption is projected to reach 774 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, a fourfold increase from current levels.
As power demand hits record highs amid a manufacturing and export boom, expanding clean energy infrastructure has become urgent to achieve Beijing's 2060 carbon neutrality goal.
More than half of the 58 conventional nuclear reactors currently under construction worldwide are located in China.
While traditional nuclear power plants are led by the Chinese government or state-owned enterprises, private companies tied to state funds and research institutes are pouring their efforts into new nuclear technologies.
China's resources are concentrated not only on small modular reactors (SMRs)—next-generation reactors that can be factory-built and assembled on-site—but also on research and development for nuclear fusion, often called the "holy grail of energy" representing the ultimate energy technology.
The FT analyzed that while most countries around the world hesitate to develop nuclear power due to cost and environmental issues, China's competitiveness is turning into an opportunity to dominate another future industry.
Established in Shanghai last year, Junhe Nuclear has attracted 300 million yuan (approx. 61 billion KRW) in venture investment and is in the design phase for its first demonstration SMR, targeting operation by 2031.
The company plans to build SMRs by utilizing the sites and workforce of aging coal-fired power plants.
An official from the company said, "The power supply gap caused by AI is precisely our opportunity."
Located on the eastern outskirts of Shanghai, nuclear fusion startup Nova FusionX is developing nuclear fusion technology using a plasma magnetic confinement method similar to Helion Energy, a US-based firm backed by Sam Altman, with the goal of constructing its first demonstration reactor by 2030.
Founder Dr. Guo Houyang previously led major nuclear fusion research projects for the US Department of Energy.
In effect, the company is challenging itself to develop world-class nuclear fusion technology in China, built upon US technological capabilities.
The company's corporate value is estimated to have surpassed 10 billion yuan (approx. 2.075 trillion KRW).
Government-level support from China is also prominent.
According to an analysis by the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a US think tank, China is pursuing commercialization-linked nuclear fusion investments roughly three times the scale of comparable projects by the US Department of Energy.
Nuclear fusion is listed among the eight target technologies in the Chinese Communist Party's latest five-year economic development plan.
Zheng Mingguang, chief designer at China's State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), claimed, "China possesses the most complete nuclear power industry supply chain and R&D workforce."
Damien Ma, a non-resident fellow at Beijing-based research institution Gavekal, said, "Over the next decade, China will have the world's most dynamic and important nuclear industry by an overwhelming margin." He added, "While nuclear construction in the US is hampered by capital intensity and regulations, China is strengthening supply chain self-reliance and converting domestic capabilities into an export industry, aiming to achieve nuclear fusion."
The FT projected that the US-China summit held in Washington this week would also serve as a flashpoint for energy dominance struggles surrounding US semiconductor export controls and AI infrastructure.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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