In 2024, nuclear energy generated a little under 25% of the EU’s total electricity. Total generating capacity of 96 GW is down from 121 GW in 2011, with notable closures in Germany, Belgium and Sweden. More than half of the EU’s capacity is in France (61 GW), with the next largest shares in Sweden and Spain at 7 GW each.
In 2024, the EU was a net exporter of uranium products. This includes natural uranium, enriched uranium and final fuel assemblies. Exports of €6 billion offset imports of €5.1 billion, leaving a €0.9 billion net export position. This is a different position from one decade earlier, when the EU was a net importer of uranium products, with the largest net imports registered at €2.3 billion in 2013. Main import partners are Canada, the UK and Russia. Main export partners are the US, South Korea and the UK.
Nuclear patenting has been relatively stable compared with faster-growing clean technologies, with global patent families fluctuating between around 300 and 500 per year since 2000. Europe remains the largest source of nuclear patent families in the dataset, ahead of the United States and China in 2024. China and South Korea have both increased their nuclear patenting activity over the period, while Japan’s recorded patenting has declined from earlier peaks. Most recent nuclear patenting relates to fission reactors, followed by nuclear power plants and fusion technologies.
