Friedberg

But I want to just take a step back and talk about general electricity production in the US versus China and where it's headed. So today the US has roughly one terawatt of total electricity production capacity. China today has about three terawatts of total electricity production capacity. And about 2% to 3% of that is nuclear today for China.

So by 2050, the US is projected to build out an additional terawatt to getting us to two terawatts of capacity. So we're going to double our total electricity output by 2050. China, meanwhile, has a plan stated to increase electricity production to 8.7 terawatts, so basically tripling between now and 2050. 88% of their power by 2050 will be renewables.

So by 2050, the US is projected to build out an additional terawatt to getting us to two terawatts of capacity. So we're going to double our total electricity output by 2050. China, meanwhile, has a plan stated to increase electricity production to 8.7 terawatts, so basically tripling between now and 2050. 88% of their power by 2050 will be renewables.

And by 2060, they've stated this goal that they want about 18% of their overall power to come from nuclear reactors. They currently have 26 nuclear reactors in the construction phase. They've got planning going on around building 300 of these. And they've already got stated plans around 500 gigawatts of capacity.

And by 2060, they've stated this goal that they want about 18% of their overall power to come from nuclear reactors. They currently have 26 nuclear reactors in the construction phase. They've got planning going on around building 300 of these. And they've already got stated plans around 500 gigawatts of capacity.

Just to give you a sense of that, 500 gigawatts, which is what China's got plans for, is half of the total U.S. electricity production today. That's in their nuclear build-out. Today, just to give you a sense of the relative cost of electricity, China's about 7 to 9 cents a kilowatt hour. The U.S. is 17 to 25 cents a kilowatt hour.

Just to give you a sense of that, 500 gigawatts, which is what China's got plans for, is half of the total U.S. electricity production today. That's in their nuclear build-out. Today, just to give you a sense of the relative cost of electricity, China's about 7 to 9 cents a kilowatt hour. The U.S. is 17 to 25 cents a kilowatt hour.

And China is projected to drop their price to less than 6 cents due to the expansion of renewables and nuclear power in the country. So the US cost is about triple what it is in China to build out new electricity capacity. That's a really important point. So currently we have about a third of what China has. China's going to triple, we're going to double by 2050.

And China is projected to drop their price to less than 6 cents due to the expansion of renewables and nuclear power in the country. So the US cost is about triple what it is in China to build out new electricity capacity. That's a really important point. So currently we have about a third of what China has. China's going to triple, we're going to double by 2050.

Their cost is already lower than ours, and it's going to get lower. And their cost to build out new electricity is a fraction of what it is in the US. So this is a massive difference. The International Energy Agency estimates that the electricity from nuclear power costs 65 bucks per megawatt hour, in China compared to 105 in the US and 140 in the EU.

Their cost is already lower than ours, and it's going to get lower. And their cost to build out new electricity is a fraction of what it is in the US. So this is a massive difference. The International Energy Agency estimates that the electricity from nuclear power costs 65 bucks per megawatt hour, in China compared to 105 in the US and 140 in the EU.

And recent data has US costs looking like they might be anywhere from five to up to 10 times what it costs to build out in China. So this is a real important long-term competitive point. China has more electricity production. It's cheaper to make electricity and it's cheaper to build new capacity and they're building at an accelerated rate.

And recent data has US costs looking like they might be anywhere from five to up to 10 times what it costs to build out in China. So this is a real important long-term competitive point. China has more electricity production. It's cheaper to make electricity and it's cheaper to build new capacity and they're building at an accelerated rate.

And this really highlights the industrial challenge the United States is gonna have in the decades ahead. We talk a lot about wanting to onshore manufacturing in the US, build out new manufacturing technologies, but ultimately all of these industries, particularly AI, are gonna be driven by the cost of power. So, Nick, if you pull up this chart, so what's going on in nuclear?

And this really highlights the industrial challenge the United States is gonna have in the decades ahead. We talk a lot about wanting to onshore manufacturing in the US, build out new manufacturing technologies, but ultimately all of these industries, particularly AI, are gonna be driven by the cost of power. So, Nick, if you pull up this chart, so what's going on in nuclear?

Well, there's effectively considered to be four generations of nuclear reactors. The first generation was all the early prototypes, and I've got an image up here to show this comes from the Department of Energy. The second generation, which was the first kind of commercial power reactor, started to get built out in the 1960s, 70s, 80s.

Well, there's effectively considered to be four generations of nuclear reactors. The first generation was all the early prototypes, and I've got an image up here to show this comes from the Department of Energy. The second generation, which was the first kind of commercial power reactor, started to get built out in the 1960s, 70s, 80s.

And then these Gen 3 reactors were these lighter weight reactors that... were kind of more advanced. Gen four is the next generation of nuclear power reactors and their next generation because they're meant to be much more safe where they cannot theoretically have a meltdown. You can't have a nuclear meltdown like you had with Fukushima or with Three Mile Island.

And then these Gen 3 reactors were these lighter weight reactors that... were kind of more advanced. Gen four is the next generation of nuclear power reactors and their next generation because they're meant to be much more safe where they cannot theoretically have a meltdown. You can't have a nuclear meltdown like you had with Fukushima or with Three Mile Island.

Yeah, and so these old reactors have this risk where you pump water in to cool down the reactor and to drive the turbine. And if the water pumping system fails and you can't get the rods out of the reactor,