WASHINGTON – One or two advanced reactor pilot projects should reach criticality by next July Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said here Monday at the American Nuclear Society conference.
In June, the Department of Energy, sparked by President Donald Trump’s May 23 executive orders, created an advanced nuclear reactor pilot program. Under the program, DOE set a goal of having at least three pilot reactors reach criticality by July 4, 2026.
The pilot program’s small modular reactors will not produce electricity but will generate heat, Wright said.
Though Wright expects a couple of reactors might achieve that deadline, he said other pilot reactors will follow suit soon afterward.
“I believe that we have one, maybe two [pilot reactors up] by the July 4th date and others next year and several others in the following year in 2027,” Wright said during his opening remarks.
Many of the Trump administration’s nuclear energy goals are aggressive but achievable, Wright said.
“We also want to see shovels in the ground for large reactor and small reactor builds; many different projects under construction in the next 24 months,” Wright said. “So aggressive goals, but nine months into this role, I believe it’s going to happen. I believe it’s going to happen, but only if all of us are all in.”
DOE selected 10 companies for the 11 demonstration projects in August. Santa Clara, Calif. based Oklo, where Wright formerly served as a board member, was selected to conduct two projects for the program.
A handful of companies, such as Austin, Texas-based startup microreactor developer Aalo Atomics and Oklo, have broken ground for their respective pilot reactors.