By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer
The Trump administration, with an eye toward having the country’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) up and running by July 4, 2026, announced it will help fast-track 11 advanced nuclear projects.
Building on a May executive order by President Donald Trump calling for a nuclear pilot program, the reactors built under this program will not require Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing.
“DOE-approved reactor designs can and will be fast tracked for future NRC licensing,” the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said in a statement.
“The goal of the Reactor Pilot Program is to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs that will be authorized by the Department at sites that are located outside of the national laboratories,” DOE said.
Each of the companies selected will be responsible for all the costs for design, manufacturing, operating, and decommissioning their test reactors. DOE will work with the companies to accelerate deployment.
“These companies aim to all safely achieve criticality by Independence Day, and DOE will do everything we can to support their efforts,” Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly, said in a statement.
SMRs are fission reactors generating between 5 megawatts (MW) and 300 MW, which are factory constructed and brought to a site. Several units can be linked together to increase generating capacity.
“Given their smaller footprint, SMRs can be sited on locations not suitable for larger nuclear power plants,” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “Prefabricated units of SMRs can be manufactured and then shipped and installed on site, making them more affordable to build than large power reactors.”
The 10 companies selected for the pilot are: Aalo Atomics., Antares Nuclear Inc., Atomic Alchemy Inc., Deep Fission Inc., Last Energy Inc., Oklo Inc., Natura Resources LLC, Radiant Industries Inc., Terrestrial Energy Inc., and Valar Atomics Inc.
“Seeking DOE authorization provided under the Atomic Energy Act will help today’s selected companies … unlock private funding and provide a fast-tracked approach to future commercial licensing activities,” the department said.
The companies are pursuing a range of different approaches and technologies. For example, Okolo is developing a liquid-metal cooled reactor, and Natura has a molten-salt cooled reactor. Valar has a high-temperature gas reactor, and Deep Fission is developing subterranean reactors.
“The diversity of applications received shows the remarkable breath of innovation and ingenuity in American reactor developers,” the DOE said.
Oklo and its Atomic Alchemy subsidiary were selected to develop three of the projects.
“The DOE is opening the door to the market so new ideas, new approaches, and new designs can be built more quickly and efficiently,” Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said in statement.
“DOE’s selection of a number of projects provides a sweeping injection of urgency to meet the moment,” DeWitte said.
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