Global Nuclear Reactors Under Construction Rise to 79, Hitting a 40-Year High
nashnova research
79 nuclear reactors are now under construction worldwide, the most since 1986 — driven by AI data centers' insatiable power demand, geopolitical shocks to fossil-fuel prices, and tightening carbon-reduction commitments.
Why is 79 reactors such a striking number?
World Nuclear Association data: as of October 16, 11 new reactors broke ground in 2026 alone, lifting the global total to 79 under construction.
The previous peak was 91 in 1986 — the same year the Chernobyl disaster triggered a decades-long collapse in new builds.
This means → the industry took a full 40 years to approach its last construction peak, and the forces driving this cycle are entirely different.
Why are AI data centers becoming nuclear power's new customer?
AI data centers consume enormous power and need 24/7 stable supply; wind and solar's intermittency cannot reliably deliver that.
Small modular reactors — compact nuclear plants that are faster to build and relatively cheaper — are emerging as Big Tech's preferred option.
U.S. tech companies are directly funding SMR developers, while the U.S. government is advancing an $80 billion nuclear expansion program dedicated to powering data centers.
In plain terms = nuclear plants used to serve cities; now tech giants want dedicated reactors for their own computing factories.
Who is building the most — and what does the global map look like?
China leads with 38 reactors under construction, followed by India with 8 and Russia with 7.
In the planning stage China is also first with 42, Russia at 23, India at 14.
This reflects a decisive shift: the center of gravity for nuclear expansion has moved from the West to Asia, with China alone accounting for nearly half the global pipeline.
Didn't Europe want to abandon nuclear? Why the reversal?
The post-Fukushima wave of nuclear phase-outs is reversing: Italy, Sweden, and Belgium have already walked back their exit policies.
France is considering up to 14 new reactors; Japan plans to add 11 to 14 by the 2050s.
The EU in March formally included nuclear in its carbon-reduction and energy-security framework; Commission President von der Leyen called Europe's nuclear retreat a "strategic mistake."
We want to produce as much energy as possible within Italy — that is why, after 40 years, we are breaking the taboo and reopening the door to nuclear power.
Giorgia Meloni
Prime Minister of Italy
(September 2026 speech)
Uranium prices just hit an all-time high — what are the risks?
Long-term uranium contract prices reached $97 per pound at the end of September, surpassing the 2007–2008 record of $95.
This means → downstream demand is still accelerating, yet uranium must pass through conversion, enrichment, and fabrication before it can fuel a reactor — a bottleneck at any stage pushes prices higher.
Enrichment — concentrating natural uranium to reactor-grade purity — is restricted to a handful of entities globally because of weapons-proliferation risk, including Russia's Rosatom and Britain's Urenco.
Next-generation reactors require high-assay enrichment capacity currently controlled by Russia; Western nations cannot rely on it. Urenco is planning capacity expansions at plants in the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Construction is racing ahead — can regulation keep up?
An IAEA report shows roughly 70 SMR designs are in development worldwide, but safety-standard setting has clearly lagged behind.
In plain terms = reactor blueprints have outrun the rulebook — too many designs, no unified standards, and approval bottlenecks could slow the buildout.
This reflects the broader stress test for the nuclear revival: whether uranium prices hold, when supply-chain chokepoints clear, and whether safety oversight can keep pace will be the critical checkpoints for the industry's investment thesis.
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