A potential US–South Korea nuclear deal could bring eight new reactors to America. But can the US nuclear industry scale fast enough?

The United States may be preparing for one of its biggest nuclear construction pushes in decades.

Reports suggest Washington and Seoul are considering a nuclear energy cooperation agreement that could lead to the construction of as many as eight reactors in the United States, potentially including Westinghouse AP1000s and South Korean APR1400s.

Daniel Poneman, former US deputy secretary of energy and former CEO of Centrus Energy, calls the prospect “huge”—both for the US nuclear industry and the broader strategic relationship between the United States and South Korea.

The potential agreement comes as US electricity demand is growing after roughly two decades of relatively flat demand, driven in part by the rapid expansion of data centers. But Poneman argues that demand is not the biggest obstacle. The harder question is whether the US nuclear industry can build fast enough to meet it.

That challenge extends to nuclear fuel. As Washington works to reduce reliance on Russian uranium enrichment, the domestic enrichment industry will also need to scale. While there is a path forward, the United States needs to move quickly.

In this episode of Three Questions, Center for the National Interest president Paul Saunders and Poneman discuss the potential US–South Korea nuclear deal, the growing demand for nuclear power, and whether the US nuclear industry has the capacity to meet the moment.

About the Authors: Paul J. Saunders and Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). From 2015 to 2023, Poneman served as president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy. Prior to joining Centrus, Poneman served as US deputy secretary of energy and as chief operating officer of the department. 

Paul J. Saunders is president of the Center for the National Interest and publisher of The National Interest. His expertise spans US foreign and security policy, energy security and climate change, US-Russia relations and Russian foreign policy, and US relations with Japan and South Korea. Saunders is a senior advisor at the Energy Innovation Reform Project, where he served as president from 2019 to 2024. He has been a member of EIRP’s board of directors since 2013 and served as chairman from 2014 to 2019. At EIRP, Saunders has focused on the collision between great-power competition and the energy transition, including issues such as energy security, energy technology competition, and climate policy in a divided world. His recent projects at EIRP have included an assessment of Russia’s evolving role in the global energy system and a study of the linkages between China’s energy, climate, and national security policies.

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