Asia’s Pivot Toward Nuclear Energy

When uranium centrifuges are being bombed and the specter of nuclear war hovers in the background, it is easy to forget the significant role nuclear power plays in meeting energy needs.

Yet, many view nuclear as the dominant energy source of the future. Pound-for-pound, nuclear fission can produce many thousands of times the electricity of fossil fuels, which are the next best source of baseload power. Nuclear reactors operate continually irrespective of weather conditions or time of day and do not require billion-dollar battery backups or rare earth minerals mined in politically unstable regions as do solar panels and wind turbines.

It was Italian American physicist Enrico Fermi who created in the winter of 1942 the first reactor – named Chicago Pile-1 – underneath the stands of the University of Chicago football field. Since then, the world has come a long way.

Gone are the days when nations suppressed nuclear ambitions because of irrational fears arising from the 2011 Fukushima disaster, whose main source of injury was the tsunami that triggered the plant’s failures. A quiet but decisive pro-nuclear pivot is underway among some of the world’s most populous and energy-hungry nations in Asia.

Be it the growing popularity of South Korea’s super-efficient and longer-lifespan APR1400 reactors at Shin Kori and Shin Hanul or the steady revival of nuclear plants in Japan, the pivot in Asia is unmistakable.

China, the region’s newest pacesetter, has 58 operational reactors and 28 under construction and anticipates increasing nuclear generating capacity by more than 80% by 2035.

Now, more countries are seeking to develop nuclear power, thanks to increased cooperation and the promise of innovative small modular reactors (SMR). Unlike large reactors that require enormous capital, land and time, SMRs are quicker to deploy and suitable for remote regions and industrial clusters, which can be expanded incrementally with the addition of small units.

The Indian state of Maharashtra has signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia’s Rosatom to jointly develop a thorium-based SMR. Rosatom is also developing India’s largest nuclear energy facility, the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, whose electricity has served some of my relatives living in that region.

New Delhi has rolled out a Nuclear Energy Mission, prioritizing SMRs in states with high rates of poverty. The state of Bihar, one of the nation’s most underdeveloped regions, is set to get its first SMR.

The industrial sector is gearing up for a change, as the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India, Ltd., has extended the deadline for proposals from large-scale users to set up SMRs.

The Philippines plans to have operational nuclear plants by 2032, starting with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) and expanding to 4,800 MW by 2050. Nuclear would be integrated into a national energy framework that currently relies heavily on fossil fuels.

Similarly, Vietnam is pursuing an accelerated timeline. Following a 2025 amendment that formally integrates nuclear power into its energy strategy, the country aims for the first reactors to be operational between 2030 and 2035.

Underscoring this urgency, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed state-owned entities, including Electricity of Vietnam, to complete two nuclear plants in Ninh Thuan province by the end of 2030, which are expected to contribute to a total projected nuclear capacity of 4,000 to 6,400 MW.

Indonesia’s archipelagic geography means large-scale power grids are challenging. For a nation spread across 17,000 islands and facing serious grid reliability issues, nuclear is a logical choice.

In 2025, the Indonesian government confirmed that it is finalizing agreements with Russia to build 500-MW SMRs in Sumatra and Kalimantan. With 24,000 tons of identified uranium reserves in West Kalimantan, Jakarta is drafting regulations to allow the purification and processing of radioactive materials, laying the groundwork for a domestic nuclear supply chain.

Indonesian policymakers have signaled interest in Canadian, Chinese and Russian nuclear technologies, indicating a pragmatic, non-ideological approach to their energy needs.

By emulating the nuclear power success of the U.S. and France, Asian giants like Indonesia and others could harness the technology’s enormous potential for the benefit of many millions of citizens. Until then, these nations will continue to rely on abundant and highly reliable fossil fuel sources to power their economies.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Science and Research Associate at the CO₂ Coalition, Fairfax, Virginia. He holds an M.S. in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in the U.K., and a bachelor’s in engineering from Anna University, India.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.