- Capability group
- Energy Technologies
- Domain
- Critical Technology · Hard Power
- Identifier
- factbase.org/cap/00BV57J50X
- Reference
- Nuclear power Wikipedia
Papers
9.2k
2020–2024
Paper growth
−10%
2020–24 on 2015–19
Patent families
16.4k
2020–2024
Filed abroad
17%
families in more than one office
In the framework
What the capability covers and what it leaves to others, and the indicators it will be measured by.
Bounds
Covers reactor, fusion and fuel-cycle technology; operating plants, enrichment and waste facilities belong to Strategic Infrastructure's Nuclear Generation, weapons matters to National Security, and the latency read runs across that seam as established there.
Lineage
Carried from v0.0 (formerly Nuclear energy) with the same identifier, absorbing Nuclear waste management and recycling (retired): the fuel cycle is one technological capacity end to end, and the facilities are Strategic Infrastructure's.
Indicators
- research publication share in nuclear and fusionResearch
- advanced reactor designs under licensingPending
- enrichment and fuel fabrication capacityPending
- fusion facilities in operationPending
Research
Papers classified to the capability, by year and by the nation of their authors' institutions, 2020–2024. Read from the v0.0 research topics Nuclear energy and Nuclear waste management and recycling.
Papers by year
The five leading nations, papers by year
Share of papers, 2020–2024
Of papers with a known author nation; 39% have none and are left out.
- 1China18.1%1,188 papers
- 2United States16.2%1,059 papers
- 3Russia7.4%482 papers
- 4Japan5.0%327 papers
- 5Germany4.9%321 papers
- 6India4.9%320 papers
- 7France4.5%297 papers
- 8United Kingdom4.4%290 papers
- 9South Korea4.1%269 papers
- 10Egypt3.1%201 papers
Leading institutions, 2020–2024
By fractional count: each paper divided among its authors' institutions.
- 1Savannah River National Laboratory147fractional papers
- 2Southwest University of Science and Technology115fractional papers
- 3Pacific Northwest National Laboratory98fractional papers
- 4University of South China84fractional papers
- 5Bhabha Atomic Research Centre82fractional papers
- 6Oak Ridge National Laboratory70fractional papers
- 7Japan Atomic Energy Agency69fractional papers
- 8Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority66fractional papers
- 9East China University of Technology65fractional papers
- 10Idaho National Laboratory53fractional papers
Patents
Patent families by the nation of origin of their applicants and their earliest priority year, from the CPC and IPC classes the capability is read from. 2025 onwards is incomplete: families are published 18 months after priority.
Families by priority year
The five leading origins, families by year
3,444 applicants filed here in 2015–2024; the five largest held 10% of families (HHI 44 of 10,000: unconcentrated).
Share of families by origin, 2020–2024
- 1China63.3%10,400 families
- 2South Korea13.7%2,254 families
- 3Japan8.6%1,411 families
- 4United States5.7%930 families
- 5France2.2%363 families
- 6Russia1.4%230 families
- 7United Kingdom1.1%182 families
- 8Germany1.1%177 families
- 9Canada0.6%91 families
- 10Taiwan0.2%38 families
Applicants filing most internationally, 2015–2024
Families filed in more than one office, by applicant as the offices name them.
- 1CGN POWER CO LTD211international families
- 2WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CO LLC203international families
- 3KOREA HYDRO & NUCLEAR POWER CO202international families
- 4CHINA GENERAL NUCLEAR POWER200international families
- 5COMMISSARIAT ENERGIE ATOMIQUE185international families
- 6CHINA NUCLEAR POWER ENG CO LTD173international families
- 7CHINA NUCLEAR POWER TECHNOLOGY RES INST CO LTD156international families
- 8CHINA NUCLEAR POWER INST CO LTD132international families
- 9HITACHI GE NUCLEAR ENERGY LTD124international families
- 10KOREA ATOMIC ENERGY RES115international families
Classification read
- G21B Fusion reactors · 18k documents
- G21C Nuclear reactors, fuel elements and fuel handling · 314.6k documents
- G21D Nuclear power plant · 37.1k documents
- G21F9/00 Treatment of radioactive waste and decontamination · 62.2k documents
- B01D59/00 Isotope separation, including enrichment · 12.1k documents
- H05H1/02 Magnetic confinement and heating of plasma · 7.7k documents
- C01G43/00 Uranium compounds · 8.2k documents
Shares inventions with
Capabilities whose classes the same families also fall in, by overlap (Jaccard).
- Nuclear Medicine & Radioisotope Technologies255 families · 0.015
- Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems61 families · 0.009
Companies
50 companies in this capability, across 8 regions. The leading 12:
- 1RosatomIntegrated state nuclear corporation that designs and exports VVER-1200 reactors, builds fast reactors (BN-800, BREST-300) and RITM SMRs, and supplies a large share of world enrichment via TVEL and Tenex.Integration
- 2China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)Chinese state nuclear group behind the Hualong One reactor, the ACP100 Linglong One land-based SMR, the HL-3 tokamak programme and China's full fuel cycle from enrichment to reprocessing.Integration
- 3China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN)Co-developer of the Hualong One (HPR1000) design and China's largest international nuclear patent applicant, with listed arm CGN Power operating the country's biggest reactor fleet.Design
- 4Westinghouse Electric CompanyDesigner of the AP1000 pressurised water reactor, the AP300 SMR and eVinci microreactor, and a leading global nuclear fuel fabricator, owned by Brookfield and Cameco.Design
- 5EDF (incl. Framatome)French state utility that develops the EPR and EPR2 reactors, owns reactor and fuel supplier Framatome, and is redesigning its Nuward SMR.Integration
- 6Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KEPCO group)KEPCO subsidiary that owns the APR1400 design exported to the UAE and Czechia and leads Korea's i-SMR programme, with sister firms KEPCO E&C and KEPCO Nuclear Fuel.Design
- 7GE Vernova (GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy)Through GE Hitachi it designs the BWRX-300 SMR, now under construction at Darlington, Canada, and selected in the US, Poland and Sweden.Design
- 8Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesJapan's leading PWR vendor, developing the SRZ-1200 advanced light-water reactor and microreactors, and maker of ITER toroidal field coils.Manufacture
- 9OranoFuel-cycle group (formerly Areva) that runs uranium mining, Georges Besse II enrichment and La Hague reprocessing, and is planning US enrichment capacity.Equipment & materials
- 10Hitachi (Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy)Its subsidiary Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy develops ABWR and BWRX-300 technology and is among the top international nuclear patent applicants.Design
- 11Doosan EnerbilityMajor forger and maker of reactor vessels, steam generators and SMR modules for APR1400, NuScale and X-energy designs.Manufacture
- 12BWX TechnologiesSole maker of US naval nuclear reactors, producer of TRISO fuel and components, and developer of the BANR microreactor and Project Pele.Manufacture