China’s updated Atomic Energy Law, adopted last September, has taken effect, laying a legal foundation for industrial development. The law prioritises safety and reliability while encouraging technical innovation in the nuclear and thermonuclear fields.
A key aspect of the legislation is the standardisation of high safety reactor designs such as Hualong One, which has a double containment able to withstand extreme external influences, including the crash of a commercial aircraft. By establishing such safety requirements, the law guarantees that the development of nuclear energy in China will comply with strict international standards.
The law also supports the multipurpose use of nuclear energy such as the Linglong One (ACP100), the world’s first commercial land-based small modular reactor (SMR), which can be used for the production of industrial low-temperature steam, district heating and desalination of sea water.
With regard to safety, the law prescribes a “deeply layered protection” approach, placing primary responsibility on operators of nuclear facilities. It sets strict standards for the entire fuel cycle, including the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle and the standardisation of approaches to radioactive waste management.
The Act encourages scientific research and technical development in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion. China intends to standardize the process of introducing advanced technologies such as EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) and BEST (Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak).
The law also stipulates the establishment of a supervisory mechanism aligned with the characteristics of controlled thermonuclear fusion and aimed at promoting its application, while implementing graded and classified management of fusion fuels and fusion facilities.
“By involving nuclear fusion in a law for the first time, the Atomic Energy Law regulates the industry from the perspective of both security and industrial development. It will provide the legal basis for China’s high-quality development of nuclear sector and drive the creation of more green energy,” Lin Boqiang, director of the China Centre for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times.
According to the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, nuclear fusion is listed as one of the industries of the future.
The implementation of the Atomic Energy Law, together with multiple government policies to promote the industrial development of nuclear fusion power as well as scaled investment in the sector, reflects the dual safeguarding role of policy and legislation, explained Chen Jing, Vice-President of the Technology and Strategy Research Institute.
With continuous breakthroughs in controlled nuclear fusion technology, the sector is emerging as a new frontier for China’s venture capitalists. According to a projection made by the research institute of Huaxi Securities Co, China’s controlled nuclear fusion sector is projected to maintain approximately CNY95bn ($13.63bn) in capital expenditure between 2026 and 2030, corresponding to annual investment exceeding CNY10bn.
“China has an advantage in execution capability, and it’s anticipated that there will be intensive technical breakthroughs before 2030, with equipment construction accelerating,” Chen said.
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