WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program could see “three to four” demonstration reactors reach criticality by July 4, DOE Assistant Secretary Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish told a Senate committee Thursday morning.
Garrish, along with John Wagner, DOE Idaho National Laboratory director, and Mike Laufer, Kairos Power CEO, testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources to discuss DOE’s implementation of President Donald Trump’s May 23, 2025 nuclear-related executive orders.
The reactor pilot program, initiated by Executive Order 14301, calls for DOE to issue a request for application and seek U.S. nuclear companies interested in building and operating reactors at national labs. DOE plans to have at least three demonstration reactors, which will not produce power, reach criticality by this summer.
Four reactors have approved safety analyses, Garrish said. One of those has military applications and one could be sent to a foreign country, he added.
So far, DOE has approved preliminary design safety analyses for Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, Radiant Nuclear and Valar Atomics.
While three reactors will reach criticality by this summer, Wagner said, a handful of the 11 projects DOE selected for the program are being constructed at INL.
“We do anticipate achieving three criticality systems that would be characterized as microreactors,” Wagner told Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho).
As for the program reactors not ready by Independence Day, Garrish expects them to reach criticality later in the year.
Garrish told the Senate committee when he first saw the order, he was unsure of meeting the deadline, but he has been encouraged by the progress. He also championed the reactor pilot program, saying, “to me, this [pilot program] indicates the enthusiasm that the U.S. can get reactors in operation and this has been very exciting for us.”
Uncertainty about the program was prevalent early on as Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in November 2025 that he expected one to two reactors to reach criticality by July. However, last month when Valar Atomics’s Ward 250 reactor was airlifted to the Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Wright told the public that he believes that three reactors will now reach criticality by the deadline.
With four of the reactors’ safety analyses completed, DOE is currently determining if the units are safe to build, Garrish told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
Garrish told the Senate committee that DOE has questions regarding fuel fabrication and manufacturing issues. But none of the inquiries are “out of the ordinary,” he added.
Along with DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been involved in the program as an observer, Garrish said. NRC has 12 employees detailed to the effort, Garrish added.
The interagency work between DOE and NRC has been distinctive and different, Garrish said, referring to the agencies’ memorandum, but encouraged DOE to keep its communication lines open with NRC to keep it informed on the incoming technologies.