Advanced Nuclear & SMRs

Westinghouse hopes to start construction of 10 new AP1000 reactors by 2030, the company’s interim CEO Dan Sumner said at a conference in Pittsburgh this week. At the first-ever Pennsylvania Energy Summit and Expo, hosted by Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.), Sumner said Westinghouse is reacting to President Donald Trump’s executive order and partnering with companies […]

Kairos Power has installed the reactor vessel for its third Engineering Test Unit at its campus in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the company announced on Tuesday. The third Engineering Test Unit vessel, which is 14-foot-tall, marks a construction milestone for its non-nuclear reactor mockup, Kairos said in its Tuesday press release. The third Engineering building is […]

Westinghouse is targeting starting construction of 10 new AP1000 reactors by 2030, the company’s interim CEO Dan Sumner said at an energy summit in Pittsburgh. on Tuesday. At the first-ever Pennsylvania Energy Summit and Expo, hosted by U.S. Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.), Sumner said Westinghouse has taken a “call-to-action” under President Donald Trump’s executive order […]

The Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency is monitoring 74 small modular reactors across the globe that are under active development and not merely paper projects, officials said Wednesday. The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), a branch of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), used an online webinar and press conference to show off its new […]

The Department of Energy has announced a new pilot program to strengthen the U.S. supply chains for nuclear fuel and support the expedition of the development of new advanced reactors. The initiative is intended to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials, while allowing the private sector to invest […]

Westinghouse has announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to use artificial intelligence tools to expedite construction of advanced reactors and improve operations of existing power plants. Westinghouse will pair its HiVE and bertha nuclear AI solutions with Google Cloud technologies to streamline construction of new nuclear reactors into an efficient and replicable process, according to […]

Oklo has selected Kiewit Nuclear Solutions to lead construction of its first commercial Aurora nuclear powerhouse at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Kiewit Nuclear Solutions., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, will support the design and construction of the Aurora powerhouse at INL under a master services agreement, according to Oklo’s Tuesday press […]

Terra Innovatum and GSR III Acquisition Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding with Rock City Admiral Parkway Development for Rock City to host deployment of Terra’s SOLO micro-modular reactor in Illinois. Rock City is a six-million square foot industrial park located in Valmeyer, Ill. The MOU will grant Terra Innovatum, a micro reactor developer, dedicated […]

Nuclear energy spending would receive a boost in fiscal 2026 legislation laid out July 13 by the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water subcommittee. In the proposed House Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee bill, the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy would receive $1.795 billion, which is $110 million more […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently accepted for review the Tennessee Valley Authority’s construction permit application for the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  NRC told TVA in a July 9 letter it has completed the acceptance review for the second part of the construction permit application. The regulator previously completed the first half […]

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has completed the second phase of its vendor design review for the ARC-100, concluding that there are no fundamental barriers to licensing, ARC Clean Technology said. The ARC-100 is a 100-megawatt sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor and is the first advanced reactor of its kind to complete a review of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pivoted to a 19-month review schedule of TerraPower’s construction permit application for its Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. TerraPower’s Kemmerer Unit 1 project’s construction permit application review is to be completed by Dec. 31, according to the NRC July 1 letter to the company. The agency expects to have TerraPower’s […]

TerraPower awarded three U.S. based supplier contracts Wednesday in an effort to support its advanced nuclear project in Kemmerer, Wyo. The Bill Gates-backed advanced nuclear company based in Bellevue, Wash. said this was the fifth round of procurement awards for the Kemmerer Natrium project, according to its Wednesday press release. The suppliers that were awarded […]

The Virginia Department of Energy this week announced plans to explore deployment of an advanced nuclear reactor in southwest Virginia, which is the state’s traditional coal mining region.  “Southwest Virginia has powered our Commonwealth for generations, and now we have the chance to invest in that legacy with the technologies of the future,” Gov. Glenn […]

TerraPower awarded three U.S. based supplier contracts Wednesday in an effort to support its advanced nuclear project in Kemmerer, Wyo. The Bill Gates-backed advanced nuclear company based in Bellevue, Wash. said this was the fifth round of procurement awards for the Kemmerer Natrium project, according to its Wednesday press release. The suppliers that were awarded […]

The Virginia Department of Energy this week announced plans to explore deployment of an advanced nuclear reactor in southwest Virginia, which is the state’s traditional coal mining region.  “Southwest Virginia has powered our Commonwealth for generations, and now we have the chance to invest in that legacy with the technologies of the future,” Gov. Glenn […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pivoted to a 19-month review schedule of TerraPower’s construction permit application for its Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. TerraPower’s Kemmerer Unit 1 project’s construction permit application review is to be completed by Dec. 31, according to the NRC July 1 letter to the company. The agency expects to have TerraPower’s […]

Fermi America and Texas Tech University have agreed to collaborate on a power and data campus in Amarillo, Texas. Co-founded by former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and his son Griffin Perry, the energy development company Fermi America and Texas Tech intend to build an Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus on around 5,800 acres of […]

A dozen universities, two developers of small modular reactors and some national laboratories, have landed Rapid Turnaround Experiment projects with Nuclear Science User Facilities, from the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. The 23 award winners were announced June 26 and DOE said their work would support advanced nuclear deployment and nuclear materials. Rapid […]

As President Donald Trump’s administration presses the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve more advanced reactors, NRC has a bunch of proposals in the pipeline. Last week during former NRC Chair David Wright’s Senate nomination hearing, he called NRC’s advanced reactor sector of its agency a “shining star”.  Wright credited the Advance Act for directing the […]

Sizewell C has selected three construction companies to build a new nuclear plant in Suffolk, England. Sizewell C has signed a Program Alliance Agreement with construction companies Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics to form the Civil Works Alliance, according to its Monday press release. Within the Civil Works Alliance with Sizewell C, […]

Sizewell C has selected three construction companies to build a new nuclear plant in Suffolk, England. Sizewell C has signed a Program Alliance Agreement with construction companies Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics to form the Civil Works Alliance, according to its Monday press release. Within the Civil Works Alliance with Sizewell C, […]

A dozen universities, two developers of small modular reactors and some national laboratories, have landed Rapid Turnaround Experiment projects with Nuclear Science User Facilities, from the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. The 23 award winners were announced June 26 and DOE said their work would support advanced nuclear deployment and nuclear materials. Rapid […]

New York plans to build an advanced nuclear power plant in Upstate New York that can produce “at least one gigawatt of electricity”, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced this week. Hochul has directed the New York Power Authority to develop a zero-emission electricity advanced nuclear plant to support a reliable electric grid, according to Hochul’s […]

The Department of Energy set out the basics of its test reactor pilot program at its 2025 Industry Day on Wednesday. On June 18 DOE announced a test pilot program to expedite testing advanced nuclear reactors under DOE authority, with the objective to have “at least three reactors” reach criticality by July 4, 2026. DOE […]

TerraPower recently raised $650 million for new nuclear projects, the company said in a press release.  The Bellevue, Wash. advanced nuclear technology company raised the money from both new and current investors. The venture capital arm of multinational technology company NVIDIA and NVentures contributed as the new investors. Current investors Microsoft co-founder and TerraPower founder […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said June 18 it has decided three policy matters designed to hasten microreactor licensing. . Microreactors are small nuclear reactors capable of producing electricity from a range of 1 to 20 megawatts. These reactors also can be fabricated in a factory and then shipped to the final location. First, NRC decided […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently amended its regulations for the licensing, special projects and annual fees it will charge applicants and licensees for fiscal 2025.  According to the NRC Tuesday press release, the agency will reduce the hourly rate for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants for specific activities required by the Advance Act. […]

New York plans to build an advanced nuclear power plant in Upstate New York that can produce “at least one gigawatt of electricity”, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced Monday Hochul has directed the New York Power Authority to develop a zero-emission electricity advanced nuclear plant to support a reliable electric grid, according to Hochul’s Monday […]

TerraPower recently raised $650 million for new nuclear projects, the company said in a press release.  The Bellevue, Wash. advanced nuclear technology company raised the money from both new and current investors. The venture capital arm of multinational technology company NVIDIA and NVentures contributed as the new investors. Current investors Microsoft co-founder and TerraPower founder […]