Advanced Nuclear & SMRs

President Donald Trump wants to see deployment of a nuclear power reactor on the moon as soon as 2030, according to a recent executive action. In the Dec. 18 executive order 14369, “Ensuring American Space Superiority”, the Trump White House called for Americans to return to the moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis Program, a […]

BWX Technologies said it has made “significant progress” in the production of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) for Antares Nuclear and is on track to have it completed by the July 4 deadline. Antares is one of 10 companies that were selected for DOE’s advanced reactor pilot program. The program seeks to have at least three reactors […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has launched an agency-wide reorganization to streamline decision-making in an effort to create more efficient licensing procedures. NRC said it will reorganize around core business lines of new reactors, operating reactors and nuclear materials and waste, according to the agency’s Wednesday press release.  Within the overhaul, “licensing and inspection functions […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has established a categorical exclusion from certain National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures for approving and constructing advanced reactors. The exclusion is a “category of actions that the agency has determined, as established in its agency NEPA procedures, normally does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and […]

NextEra Energy is considering adding up to 6 gigawatts or 6,000 megawatts of new nuclear generation in part to help meet artificial intelligence (AI) data center demands. In a Jan. 27 earnings call, the Juno Beach, Fla.-based energy utility said small modular reactors (SMRs) could be built at its existing nuclear power plants or at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) has granted a Texas environmental group’s petition to intervene in the case surrounding Dow and X-Energy’s construction permit application for Seadrift, Texas. The ASLB ruling on the intervention petition, which was issued Jan. 22, found that San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper) established grounds to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) has granted a Texas environmental group’s petition to intervene in the case surrounding Dow and X-Energy’s construction permit application for Seadrift, Texas. The ASLB ruling on the intervention petition, which was issued Jan. 22, found that San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper) established grounds to […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has established a categorical exclusion from certain National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures for approving and constructing advanced reactors. The exclusion is a “category of actions that the agency has determined, as established in its agency NEPA procedures, normally does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and […]

NextEra Energy is considering adding up to 6 gigawatts or 6,000 megawatts of new nuclear generation in part to help meet artificial intelligence (AI) data center demands. In a Jan. 27 earnings call, the Juno Beach, Fla.-based energy utility said small modular reactors (SMRs) could be built at its existing nuclear power plants or at […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Type One Energy submitted a byproduct material license application with the state of Tennessee Thursday in preparation for a commercial fusion project. TVA and Type One Energy additionally worked with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to prepare for the application, according to Type One Energy’s press release. […]

The Department of Energy has approved Antares Nuclear’s Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis for its demonstration reactor under DOE’s reactor pilot program. Under the program, DOE has set out a goal of at least three reactors reaching criticality by July 4. Antares, founded in 2023, was one of the 10 companies selected for the program. The […]

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) shut down Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station, one day after restarting it, due to a technical malfunction.  According to a Jan. 22 New York Times article, the alarm went off in the power plant while technicians were adjusting Unit 6’s control rods, the cylinders used to regulate […]

The Department of Energy has approved Antares Nuclear’s Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis for its demonstration reactor under DOE’s reactor pilot program. Under the program, DOE has set out a goal of at least three reactors reaching criticality by July 4. Antares, founded in 2023, was one of the 10 companies selected for the program. The […]

Canadian company General Fusion announced it has begun the process to become a publicly owned company. General Fusion, a British Columbia-based company, said in a Jan. 22 press release it has entered a definitive business combination agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.(SVAC) III. The proposed business combination is expected to be completed by mid-2026.  The […]

Newly elected New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has signed an executive order to form a state interagency nuclear task force focused on developing new nuclear generation. The Jan. 20 executive order leans on developing new megawatts in the short term with energy sources such as solar and battery and long-term nuclear power. The power […]

Kairos Power has finalized a contract with the Department of Energy to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for its Hermes demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn. In Kairos’s Tuesday press release, the company said it will use the material to produce HALEU tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel pebbles for Hermes 1. It will also partner up […]

Amentum has been chosen by Rolls-Royce SMR to serve as its program delivery partner for the first European deployments of Rolls-Royce small modular reactors. . The two companies signed a collaborative agreement to make Amentum responsible for integration, oversight, governance, construction management and execution of SMR deployment, according to Amentum’s Tuesday press release. In the […]

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) has issued an executive order to establish a state nuclear energy task force to explore adding new reactors to the state’s current electricity portfolio. The Missouri Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force will help provide recommendations to Missouri’s State Energy Office’s Department of Natural Resources’s new energy plan, which will be […]

In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, he has pushed heavily for nuclear power to play a larger role in the United States’s energy portfolio. Trump’s second term started Jan. 20, 2025 and hit the one-year mark on Tuesday. The Department of Energy released a roundup Tuesday highlighting Trump administration actions in […]

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has upped the ante on previous plans and called for the state to build up to five gigawatts or 5,000 megawatts of new nuclear energy. Hochul announced the increased scope during her 2026 state of the state address on Jan. 13. Last summer, Hochul announced plans for New York […]

Amentum has been chosen by Rolls-Royce SMR to serve as its program delivery partner for the first European deployments of Rolls-Royce small modular reactors. . The two companies signed a collaborative agreement to make Amentum responsible for integration, oversight, governance, construction management and execution of SMR deployment, according to Amentum’s Tuesday press release. In the […]

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has upped the ante on previous plans and called for the state to build up to five gigawatts or 5,000 megawatts of new nuclear energy. Hochul announced the increased demand during her 2026 state of the state address on Jan. 13. Last summer, Hochul announced plans for New York […]

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) has issued an executive order to establish a state nuclear energy task force to explore adding new reactors to the state’s current electricity portfolio. The Missouri Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force will assist in providing recommendations to Missouri’s State Energy Office’s Department of Natural Resources’s new energy plan, which will […]

Nano Nuclear and Ameresco have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore collaborating to deploy Nano’s KRONOS microreactor at commercial and federal sites. Nano Nuclear is currently developing the KRONOS modular microreactor, which is made to be portable and produce up to 15 megawatts of electricity and 45 megawatts of thermal energy.  Ameresco, headquartered […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the first stage of a Holtec subsidiary’s two-part construction permit application for two small modular reactors (SMRs) at Palisaded nuclear power plant in Michigan. NRC is reviewing the application to see if it is complete. If so, the application will then be docketed for a detailed technical review […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

Tech giant Meta has announced a string of agreements with several nuclear companies to purchase up to 6,600 megawatts of new and existing capacity by the mid 2030s. On Jan. 9, Meta signed deals with Oklo, Vistra Corp. and TerraPower. These deals come after Constellation Energy signed a 20-year power purchase agreement last year with […]

The Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a renewed memorandum of understanding, joining efforts to develop a nuclear power reactor on the moon by 2030. The Tuesday interagency MOU affirms President Donald Trump’s space goals, outlined in the Dec. 18 executive order “Ensuring American Space Superiority”, and its collaboration […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the first stage of a Holtec subsidiary’s two-part construction permit application for two small modular reactors (SMRs) at Palisaded nuclear power plant in Michigan. NRC is reviewing the application to see if it is complete. If so, the application will then be docketed for a detailed technical review […]