Just recently, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright vowed to support the expansion of nuclear power. “As global energy demand continues to grow, America must lead the commercialization of affordable and abundant nuclear energy,” Wright said.
This is a linchpin of the Trump administration’s push for American energy dominance, and it is overdue.
In the global nuclear marketplace, the U.S. is nowhere near the top. Russia takes the top spot, and the nucleus of its dominance is Rosatom. The state-owned behemoth supplies 70% of nuclear reactor exports and controls more than 45% of global uranium enrichment, according to the Energy Innovation Reform Project. Russia is constructing nearly 45% of the world’s new nuclear reactors, stretching from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
While Russia is in pole position, China is catching up fast thanks to the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). Closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party, CNNC since the turn of the century has built nearly half of the world’s new nuclear power plants. Many of these plants are located in China, but CNNC is starting to go global, for instance through Uganda’s Buyende plant, which is scheduled to go live in 2031.
Neither Russia nor China export nuclear reactors just for profit. They use the effort to secure their dominance across the Global South. Rosatom and CNNC are one-stop shops. They offer full-package deals that include loans, fuel supply, maintenance, upgrades, and employee training. As a result, the client nation is left dependent on Russia or China for decades and is irresistibly pulled into their sphere of influence.
This energy-focused grand strategy comes straight from the top. In 2016, Chinese state media made that clear when it argued that nuclear power “is not simply an energy source,” but also “an important cornerstone of strategic power, a vehicle for civilian-military integration, and a ‘China card’ to play in the country’s international cooperation diplomacy.”
The same is true of Rosatom. Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the company to buttress Russia’s position at the United Nations.
By letting others corner the nuclear marketplace, the U.S. has given up a lot of influence. This matters. With climate change and the advent of artificial intelligence, nuclear energy is now more crucial than ever. It will power the 21st century, and if the U.S. does not catch up soon, it risks leaving the world’s future in the hands of autocracies.
So, what can the Trump administration do now to catch up?
In “Harnessing the Power of the Atom,” a report published by the Henry Jackson Society, we argue that the U.S. should not go it alone. Instead, it should form a coalition with partners such as France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea. This coalition would be the democratic world’s answer to Rosatom and CNNC. Call it Atoms for Democracy.
Atoms for Democracy would be an umbrella organization dedicated to advancing nuclear power worldwide. It would work hand-in-hand with commercial nuclear power companies in democratic countries – think Westinghouse and GE in the U.S., EDF in France, or Hitachi in Japan – to pool resources. Leading banks, which have expressed their willingness to finance nuclear expansion, should also be brought into the fold.
The endgame would be to bid for contracts in the Global South and quickly win back market shares from Rosatom and CNNC.
Demand would be high, because many developing countries want a better deal. They are desperate for clean energy to grow their economies, but they do not want to grow dependent on Russia and China in the process. Even countries wary of the West seek to remain non-aligned. Diversifying their nuclear power supply would give them more leverage and strengthen their sovereignty.
In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the Atoms for Peace program, pledging that the U.S. would help other nations harness nuclear power. “Any partner of the United States acting in the same good faith,” he said, “will find the United States a not unreasonable or ungenerous associate.”
Set up under the aegis of the United Nations, Atoms for Peace enabled countries like Argentina, Turkey, Iran, and Spain to develop their civilian nuclear energy programs.
More than 70 years later, President Trump should follow in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor and see to it that the democratic world leads the next era of nuclear power.
As Eisenhower recognized, the atom “can be developed into a great boon, for the benefit of all mankind.”
About the Author:
Thomas Munson and Theo Zenou are the authors of “Harnessing the Power of the Atom,” a report published by the Henry Jackson Society with a foreword by former UK Defense Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson CBE MP. Thomas Munson is a member of the Tory Reform Group’s Advisory Board and a former aide to two UK Government Ministers. He has written for The Times of Israel and LBC News. Follow him on X: @TWMunson. Theo Zenou is a historian with a Cambridge PhD who has written for The Washington Post, The Economist, Financial Times, and The Sunday Times. Follow him on X: @TheoZenou.
