The Department of Energy is requesting $1.53 billion for its Office of Nuclear Energy in fiscal 2027, a slight funding reduction, despite the Donald Trump administration’s push for more nuclear power.
The $1.53 billion request outlined in DOE’s fiscal 2027 budget justification document represents a $151 million or 9% budget cut from fiscal 2026, which ends Sept. 30. The subagency’s budget is $1.78 billion.
However, according to the document, $100 million of the Office of Nuclear Energy’s fiscal 2026 budget was repurposed for Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, $1.68 billion for Nuclear Energy.
The Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) appears to receive $226 million, under the request, which would be way down from the $3.1 billion ultimately enacted by Congress for fiscal 2026, ADRP supports demonstration projects and small modular reactor projects, such as TerraPower’s Natrium reactor in Wyoming,
Fuel Cycle Research and Development, which contributes to DOE’s High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Availability program, also would take a big hit – with the White House requesting $218 million, compared with the fiscal 2026 budget of $490 million. That would amount to a 55% reduction.
According to the document, the 55% cut comes as the agency removed the Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition Research and Development and Integrated Waste Management System from the Fuel Cycle Research and Development control point. The two sections have been put together to form the Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition Research and Development and High-Level Waste Disposition, which has a proposed budget of $102 million for fiscal 2027.