There are currently 438 nuclear power plant units operating globally, with 62 more under construction across 31 different countries. Last month we reported that the global nuclear reactor market was growing slowly at 2.26% annually through 2019. However, the nuclear power market in the BRIC region is booming, as this region is home to 65% of the nuclear power reactors that are currently under construction.

Source: Power Reactor Information System

The nuclear power market in BRIC countries is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% through 2019, reaching nearly 90 GW at the end of the forecast period. 40 of the world’s 62 nuclear power reactors under construction are currently being built in the BRIC region. Russia is the world leader in fast neutron reactor technology and is building the world’s first floating nuclear reactor, which is expected to be operational by 2016. Brazil is home to only two nuclear power reactors with one under construction. They had plans to build eight more by 2020 but had to scale back in wake of the Fukushima disaster due to safety concerns.

In 2014, Russia was the leading country among BRIC nations, with a cumulative installed capacity of 23.6 GW but China is aggressively increasing its nuclear power capacity and is expected to surpass Russia by the end of 2015. China will have new capacity additions every year during the forecast period with the highest additions coming in 2016 and 2017.

One of the key drivers for this market during the forecast period is the rapidly increasing power demand in BRIC nations, especially China and India. These countries are burdened with a growing population and are facing a serious power crisis. Nuclear energy is a reliable power source that can produce uninterrupted clean energy on a large scale and nuclear fuel is abundantly available and cost efficient compared to fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

In addition to this, extreme temperature conditions, especially the year-on-year increase in summer temperatures in countries such as India, China and Brazil is leading to increased use of air conditioners, ultimately peaking the use of electricity. These countries need nuclear power to be the base-load power provider and act as a cleaner source as compared to other conventional sources, helping in meeting the growing power demand.