The Department of Energy wants to “expedite” the testing of advanced reactors at sites other than at national labs like the INL where a number of advanced SMRs and microreactors are planning to build their first-of-a-kind plants (FOAK).
A key qualification factor for applicants to the program is that the firm’s advanced reactor must be able to achieve “criticality” by 07/01/26 or about 12 months from now.
This requirement represents a new low in the government contracting process of setting deliverable requirements that, in terms of a search for intelligent specifications, are indistinguishable from a field of soap bubbles.
Either that or the date in the announcement is a world class typo that passed unnoticed by multiple reviewers none of whom, apparently, know anything about what it takes to bring an advanced nuclear reactor design to market validated by extensive testing of the reactor and the performance of its fuel. For now the “typo” scenario doesn’t seem to be the answer.
Presumably, this new initiative refers to DOE’s interest is using defense installations or other federal sites that could feasibly support testing of small reactors, microreactors, their designs, and fuels.
The key question is why DOE appears to want to move away from its utilization of the nuclear science, engineering expertise, and facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory. It is de facto, literally a hotbed of testing for reactor designs and fuels. Why DOE wants to look elsewhere defies common sense.
Even without DOE offering what appear to be floating bubbles of ambition in search of accomplishments, within an arbitrary timeline, there are key challenges ahead that will affect its chances of success.
A scan of multiple announcements by companies developing SMRs and microreactors, shows that eight of them, so far, have developed or are in the process of developing arrangements with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to test their designs and, for some, also the fuels, mostly at HALEU grades of enrichment, for their reactors.
Potential candidate firms for the program include Oklo, which also has a site permit at the INL, Project Pele, Aalo Atomics, and the Westinghouse eVinci micro. These three also have engagements for testing their designs and fuels at the Idaho lab.
As the nation’s nuclear energy research laboratory, INL is working with developers, private industry, regulators, to develop, demonstrate, test, and validate a new generation of SMRs and microreactors so they can eventually be made available to customers.
As part of its research mission, INL is also helping to develop and test new fuels for microreactor designs via the use of the Advanced Test Reactor, which is a capability that does not exist at DOD nor other federal sites.
The new generation of microreactors under development are focused on key design principles which are that they are simple to use, easy to transport and set up, and can go years without having to be refueled.
Testing all of these planned capabilities requires dedicated test facilities and the wide open spaces as well as inherent security of site on the Arco desert in eastern Idaho.
DOE’s Ambitious Qualification Date
DOE wrote in its current announcement it wants to identify at least three reactors that can achieve criticality by July 4, 2026. Based on an analysis (below) of the progress of a pack of leading SMR and microreactor developers, the question is whether DOE will adjust its condition for eligibility for this program or find itself without three viable candidates. The timetable, as stated, ignores the hard facts of nuclear physics in terms of timelines for the design, testing, and deployment of the leading advanced reactors. See the list of examples below.
Just because the Pentagon, or another federal agency have available space at military bases, shipyards, or supply depots doesn’t mean any one of them is a suitable candidate for testing prototypes of microreactors and SMRs. Further, it is unlikely that a military base commander, with a priority for tactical readiness, is going to accept risks to the mission that would accompany testing the design of an unproven microreactor or SMR regardless of size.
If DOE changed its deadline for first criticality to 2030 it would have a much better opportunity to attract meaningful applications for this program. It also should seriously reconsider its desire to move some testing work away from the INL to uncertain venues at DOD and other federal facilities.
Support for the NRC’s Role with a Full Commission is Crucial
Assuming President Trump doesn’t further seek changes at the NRC, having just fired its chairman without cause last week, the agency may still be able to meet congressional deadlines for times to complete reviews of advanced reactors.
Christopher Hanson, now the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in a statement that Trump terminated his position as NRC commissioner without cause, “contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.”
Shortly following Hanson’s dismissal, on June 16, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated David Wright of South Carolina to be reappointed as an NRC commissioner for a five-year term, expiring June 30, 2030. Wright, a Republican, has served on the commission since 2018 and was recently elevated to chairman. Wright’s reappointment is currently before the US Senate.
However, If Wright is not confirmed by the time his current term ends on June 30, 2025, he will be required to step down. From July 1st onward, unless and until Wright’s confirmation or a new appointment is made, the commission would operate with only three members: Annie Caputo, Bradley Crowell, and Matthew Marzano.
Unanticipated Factors Can Affect the Design and Licensing Process
At least one or two of the the current pack of developers are close to being able to achieve the goal set by DOE, but in the development of new advanced nuclear reactors, nothing is guaranteed and even developers with the best prospects can early on run into unknown unknowns sinking their ambitions.
The case of Transatomic, at one time a bright early prospect, is a case in point. One of the first entrepreneurial startups in the complex field of designing new nuclear reactors, founded in 2011, Transatomic called it quits seven years later in 2018. The firm faced twin challenges of a long development time and an uncertain degree of competitive technology advantage over other designs.
The decision by Transatomic to roll up the sidewalks was based on a conclusion by the firm’s lead developers, both holding Ph.Ds in the nuclear energy field from MIT, that they could not deliver a commercially successful design that runs on spent nuclear fuel nor one using a molten salt concept.
What the Government Wants to Happen
According to a long government document published in summary form by World Nuclear News, the Department of Energy has launched a pilot program to expedite the testing of advanced nuclear reactor designs under DOE authority outside of the national laboratories: the establishment of a pilot program for the construction and operation of such reactors, with the goal of three reactors reaching criticality by July 4th, 2026, was part of an executive order written in typical baroque government syntax titled Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy
DOE has now issued a Request for Application (RFA) as it seeks “qualified US reactor companies” interested in constructing and operating test reactors outside National Laboratory sites, which it says is “an important step toward streamlining nuclear reactor testing” and ensuring the 2026 deadline is met.
The pilot program builds on current efforts to demonstrate advanced reactors on DOE sites through microreactor testbeds and other projects led by the Department of Defense and private industry. The program is intended to foster research and development of nuclear reactors and not demonstrate reactors for commercial suitability. This last sentence is a likely deal breaker for the leading SMR and microreactor developers who working in boil over mode to bring their creations to market.
The department said it will consider advanced reactors that have a “reasonable chance” of operating by July 2026. Applicants will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating, and decommissioning each test reactor, and will be competitively selected based on a set of criteria, including technological readiness, site evaluations, financial viability, and a detailed plan to achieving criticality.
In point of fact, the level of technological maturity DOE seeks from applicants is so far along that it raises the question of why a developer would consider taking on all of the costs and bureaucratic aggravation of using one of these sites offered by DOE for testing purposes.
Why the Government is Engaged in Wishful Thinking About Expediting Testing of Advanced Reactors
What DOE appears to have in mind is to use current military and other federal installations to support the FOAK type projects as non-power test reactors which in theory gives them faster and less burdensome regulatory requirements for a license. On the other hand, what the reactor developers want are full working power generating FOAK units to allow customers (utilities) to kick the tires of what they would reasonably expect to be delivered if they place an order.
The trade off appears to be a fast path to building a non-power prototype v. time to market for a full meal deal that can be quickly replicated and offered in “fleet mode” via factory production of SMRs or microreactors. The question is what will it take to transform the design, supply chain requirements, and lessons learned from building a test prototype into being able to offer a commercial version that can be delivered on time and within budget
Rundown of Likely Candidates for the DOE Program
DOE’s requirement is for candidate SMRs or mircoreactors to achieve first criticality by 2026. A quick look at the market leaders shows that all but one of of them will not meet this deadline. Bear in mind fuel loading cannot take place until the reactor has an NRC license. Here’s a rundown of some of the leaders in the field.
ARDP Reactors – TerraPower and X-Energy, which are participants in DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program for a total of $3.2 billion, are likely to deploy their first of a kind plants in the early 2030s.
TerraPower is building its 345 MW Natrium sodium cooled advanced reactor at a former coal fired power plant in Wyoming. X-Energy is building four of its 80 MW HTGRs, using TRISO fuel, at a Dow chemical manufacturing plant in Texas. Both projects, like some of the other advanced reactors, will need HALEU fuel to operate e.g, at between 5-19% U235. Both developers already have sites for their respective FOAK plants and have no interest in being diverted by the DOE to build them elsewhere.
DOE has issued multiple contracts for enrichment and fuel fabrication of HALEU fuel. However, TerraPower pushed its startup date to 2030 due to anticipated delays in getting enough HALEU fuel for its reactor. Other reactor developers that need HALEU face similar delays due to the fuel supply issue. This factor also is a show stopper in terms of eligibility to meet DOEs’ deadline of July 2026.
NuScale, which has a newly completed design approval by the NRC for its 77 MW SMR, does not have a utility customer in the US to build one. NuScale says in a recent press statement related to an investor briefing that its plan via ENTRA1 Energy is to provide power for AI data centers which has a target date for deployment of 2030.
While the firm has made additional statements to investors that it expects to book one or more US utility customers in the near term, even if a project for a six-pack (462 MW), NuScale’s typical offering, broke ground this year, there is no way even the first of six units would be complete, loaded with fuel, and able to achieve its first instance of criticality by 2026.
Oklo will not submit its second run at an NRC license for its 75 MW SMR until October 2025. As an “advanced reactor”, the NRC has a legislatively required compressed timeline to complete the review.
However, the agency won’t release its new Part 53 rules for advanced reactors for at least another two years forcing Oklo to use Part 52 for the fastest path.
Assuming Oklo can get the licensing done in two years or less (2027) construction of its FOAK at INL will take at least another two years (2029). In Coney Island broadwalk parlance, for DOE’s purposes that’s a case of close but no cigar relative to meeting DOE’s contract application requirement.
GEH is expected to submit a license application for the BWRX300, a conventional BWR, to the NRC later this year. It faces at least at least a two year review period to 2028. With a two-to-three year construction cycle at Clinch River, TN, that puts its first criticality at 2031. Worse, President Trump fired two of the board members of TVA making it impossible for the utility to make a formal commitment to fund and build the BWRX300.
KAIROS as an advanced reactor developer is way ahead of the competition in terms of licensing. The NRC issued a construction permits in November 2024 to Kairos Power for the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant to be built at the Heritage Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, TN. The permits authorize Kairos to build a facility with two 35 MWt thermal test reactors that would use molten salt to cool the reactor cores.
It took the NRC just under a year to review the application and issue the license. Following the two-step 10 CFR Part 50 licensing process, Kairos Power will apply for an operating license for Hermes 2, which must be approved by the NRC before the plant can start up.
Kairos, which has a deal with Google to build seven of its advanced reactors to power the IT platform’s AI data centers, says on its website the target date for the first deployment is in 2030. Kairos said the units for Google will include a single 50-MW reactor, with three subsequent power plants that would each have two 75-MW reactors for a total of (1 at 50MW , six at 75 MW for 450 for a total of 500 MW).
Plants will be sited in relevant service territories to supply 24X7/365 electricity via power purchase agreements (PPAs) to Google data centers. It is unclear whether Google will seek greenfield sites for new data centers and co-locate Kairos reactors at them or add Kairos reactors as power sources for existing data centers.
Holtec is even further behind in the pack with a new (December 2024) 300 MW design putting its FOAK date in the early 2030s at the Palisades nuclear power station in Michigan. The firm has plans to deploy other SMRs at nuclear sites that have been closed, such as Oyster Creek in New Jersey. These units, if built, would likely come online in the mid-2030s at the earliest.
Westinghouse with a 300 MW PWR type SMR is on a similar timeline as Holtec. Also, the project just this month lost its chief technology officer, Rita Baranwal, who is now the chief nuclear officer for Radiant.
Westinghouse is also planning to build a test prototype of its eVinci mircoreactor at the INL. In September 2024 Westinghouse Electric Company completed the front-end engineering and experiment design (FEEED) phase to test a prototype of its eVinci microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory.
The FEEED process is intended to support developers in design and planning for the fabrication, construction, and potential testing of fueled reactor experiments at the DOME test bed operated by the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC). This is exactly the kind of testing of microreactors that DOE should continue to support at INL for other microreactors rather than chasing impossible deadlines at other sites.
Radiant Industries in November 2024the firm completed the front-end engineering and experiment design phase (FEEED) to test a prototype of its Kaleidos microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory. The FEEED process supports developers in designing and planning for the fabrication, construction, and potential testing of fueled reactor experiments at the DOME microreactor test bed. The facility is located at the INL’s materials fuels complex located on the Arco Desert about 25 miles west of Idaho Falls, ID.
Radiant was competitively selected last year to complete the FEEED process, which includes developing a detailed schedule, budget, design, and test plan for the experiment, as well as a detailed preliminary safety report on its design to ensure safe operations during testing. The firm did its homework and earned a seat at table.
The firm is currently in pre-application reviews with the NRC. According to its 2023 Regulatory Engagement Plan (ML23286A328) filed with the NRC, the firm said at that time it plans to deliver its first unit to a customer in 2028. Like the timeline for Oklo, even with the use of the NRC’s accelerated timeframe for reviews of advanced reactors, Radiant’s self-imposed milestone is going to be a significant challenge to accomplish.
Aalo Atomics in December 2024 DOE identified a piece of land at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as a potential site for the firm to build a new experimental reactor facility. The new facility will be used to advance the company’s commercial Aalo-1 microreactor design that the company says it hopes to deploy before the end of the decade. It plans to submit to the NRC a combined construction and operating license application (COLA) for the project in 2026.It will likely be 2028, or later, before the firm breaks ground for its FOAK unit.
Nano Nuclear, which has conceptual design work underway for two small reactor designs, does not have a regulatory engagement plan on file with the NRC although the firm says is working on one. There is no date that has been set for deployment of either design.
In February 2024 the firm completed a pre-conceptual design review of NANO Nuclear’s “ODIN” low-pressure coolant microreactor design.In a press statement Nano Nuclear’s CEO praised the INL for its support of the process.
He said, ““Through the laboratory’s thorough evaluation of NANO Nuclear’s proprietary reactor, ‘ODIN’, we have obtained enormously useful and valuable insights to assist our technological development. This collaboration has equipped our team with essential guidance and utilized a national laboratory expertise to maintain our progress in the field of advanced nuclear reactors.”
Project Pele broke ground for its FOAK at the INL in September 2024. It is probably the only microreactor to have a reasonable chance of achieving criticality by July 2028.
Assembly of the final reactor is set to begin in February 2025. The current schedule includes transport of the fully-assembled an fueled reactor to INL in 2026, where it would become the first ever Generation IV nuclear reactor to generate electricity in the United States The reactor will be manufactured by BWX Technologies and connected to INL’s microgrid producing 1 to 5 MW of electrical power.
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