Construction of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt, which is backed by Russia. Randall Schmollinger argues that Russia and China are winning the global nuclear export race by bundling financing, construction, fuel, and training into state-backed packages the United States cannot match. (President of the Russian Federation)

Why America Is Losing the Nuclear Export Race to Russia and China

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The United States has world-class nuclear technology, but Russia and China sell something it cannot—financing, construction, fuel, and training bundled into a single state-backed package.

The United States cannot compete with Russian and Chinese nuclear exports. It has all the components of a world-class nuclear export industry, some of the world’s most advanced nuclear technology, decades of experience designing and operating reactors, a sophisticated financial system, elite universities and laboratories, and a thriving startup scene delivering new innovative technologies. But a country purchasing a nuclear power plant is not buying a reactor in isolation. Countries willing to commit to a project that could cost billions of dollars and last for decades require a level of coordination that the American nuclear export system does not offer.

How America’s Decentralized Nuclear Industry Sells Reactors Abroad

The United States pioneered the commercial nuclear industry and built the world’s largest nuclear fleet. American companies developed many of the technologies that became the global standard, and US laboratories, universities, engineering firms, utilities, and reactor vendors retain considerable technical expertise.

The American nuclear sector is also highly decentralized. Reactor companies develop technologies.........

© The National Interest