DOE Selects 11 Firms for Advanced Reactor Pilot Program
Opinion – Is DOE Fish Farming for Minows When it Needs to Deploy Fleets of Whales?
NextEra Updates NRC on Duane Arnold Restart Plans
X-Energy Gets USAF Deal to Develop its HTGR
Equinix Signs Off on Three Nuclear Deals for 750 MWe of Power for Data Centers
Final Investment Decision Delayed for NuScale SMR in Romania
Oklo and Lightbridge in Joint Effort to Manufacture Advanced Fuels
Fermi America and ASP Isotopes Ink MOU for HALEU Fuel
Clean Core Thorium Energy Hits Fuel Testing Milestone at INL ATR with HALEU/Thorium Blend
DOE Selects 11 Firms for Advanced Reactor Pilot Program
The Department of Energy has selected 11 developers of micro and small modular reactor to participated in its Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program. Except for Last Energy, which is developing a 20 MWe PWR, and Deep Fission, whichs is developing a 15 MWe PWR, all the other choices are advanced reactors that will require TRISO or other forms of HALEU fuel.
The Reactor Pilot Program establishes a new DOE pathway for advanced reactor demonstration to fast-track commercial licensing. The program aims to leverage DOE’s authority to expedite the research and development of advanced nuclear reactor technologies with the larger goal of reaching criticality for at least three advanced nuclear reactor concepts located outside of the national laboratories by July 4, 2026.
Typical materials used in a an advanced microreactor. A heat-pipe microreactor (HP-MR) is used as an example. Note that every microreactor design is unique. Image: Argonne National Laboratory, “Materials for Microreactor Applications. “
DOE will initially work with 11 advanced reactor projects to move their technologies towards deployment. DOE will work with industry on these 11 projects, with the goal to construct, operate, and achieve criticality of at least three test reactors using the DOE authorization process by July 4, 2026.
DOE is not providing any funding for to these companies for their participation in the program. Each company will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating, and decommissioning their test reactors. DOE has made no promises for future funding for any of the participant nor for the three or more reactors that achieve criticality by July 2026.
There is great variability among the 11 designs chosen by DOE in terms of technology readiness levels. Some exist only on virtual drawing boards while others are racing toward building their first prototypes. All of the firms selected jumped at the chance to gain competitive advantages via the DOE program even if all of the costs are borne by their investors with no support of any kind from the govenment other than a place to land. For instance, DOE has selected four sites—Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and Savannah River Site—to move forward with plans to invite private sector partners to develop cutting edge AI data center and energy generation projects.
DOE announced the Reactor Pilot Program in June 2025, following the release of Executive Order 14301, which reforms reactor testing at the Department. 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.
Seeking DOE authorization provided under the Atomic Energy Act will help the selected companies to unlock private funding and provide a fast-tracked approach to future commercial licensing activities with the NRC.
Reactor Pilot Program Selections
Aalo Atomics Inc.
Antares Nuclear Inc.
Atomic Alchemy Inc.
Deep Fission Inc.
Last Energy Inc.
Oklo Inc. (two projects)
Natura Resources LLC
Radiant Industries Inc.
Terrestrial Energy Inc.
Valar Atomics Inc.
DOE issued a Request for Application on June 18, 2025. The Department is seeking applications for qualified test reactor construction and operation outside of the national laboratories using the DOE authorization process. Initial applications closed on July 21, 2025, with subsequent applications allowed on a rolling basis.
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Opinion
Is DOE Fish Farming for Minows
When it Needs to Deploy Fleets of Whales?
DOE’s decision to select 11 microreactor firms to spend their investors’ money in pursuit of achieving a political flavored milestone of achieving first criticality by July 4, 2026, is not doing the nuclear industry any favors. There is no promise of future funding for any of the three firms that cross the finish line first. All of them will eventually face the cost and time of licensing their designs with the NRC.
What DOE ought to be doing if the agency is really serious about deploying 25GW of nuclear power by 2050 is to figure out how to get the cost of construction of GW class reactors, e.g., 1,000MW or more, under control.
No utility worth its stock price is going to commit to new GW class projects without project controls that will be effective to prevent a repeat of the cost overuns and schedule delays that were recorded for building the twin AP1000s at Vogtle.
Additionally, DOE’s priority endeavor also needs to include spooling up a supply chain that can cost effectively deliver the components that are used to build GW class reactors including LWR RPVs, steam systems, turbines, generators, and switchyard transformers. The current wait time for these components is stretching out in ways that make future large reactor project look to be unsustainable for publicly owned utilities.
On the point of supply chains, with the great variety of microreactor designs, every one of them will confront the challenge to their burn rates of the high costs of one-off fabrications of their first of a kind units with no guarantee for them or their suppliers of the economies of scale that would occur using much promoted concept of factory production of these designs.
In point of fact, the great variety of design specifications for 11 microreactors is a nightmare for suppliers. It will likely drive some suppliers to make choices about which customers they will work for based on which ones are willing to pay the highest premium for one-off fabrication purchase orders.
DOE’s concept of rolling out 11 of these projects looks like a old style DOD “bake off” for new weapons systems like fighter jets and munitions. The difference is DOD paid its contractors to play the government’s game.
DOE’s pursuit of three microreactors to achieve first criticality by next year (July 4, 2026) is a horse race without a purse and a distraction from the long term goal of decarbonizing America’s grid.
Prior coverage on this blog
DOE’s Wishful Thinking About Expedited Testing of Advanced Reactors
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NextEra Updates NRC on Duane Arnold Restart Plans
(WNN) The company presented an overview of the current status and its plans for the proposed restart of the shuttered plant in slides submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ahead of an August 7, 2025, Pre-Submittal Meeting at the NRC. (NextEra slides – PDF file)
Planned restart activities will restore the plant to its previous operating license condition at 2020 shutdown. Planned plant modifications include new cooling towers, restoration of in-scope transmission lines, new office and warehouse buildings, and upgrades to the sewage treatment system upgrade. Plans also include dredging of the water intake from the Cedar River.
The company said in the slides, “Under NEPA [the National Environmental Policy Act], it is anticipated that NRC will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for this restart,”
The firm said in its slides NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC will coordinate with the NRC Environmental Project Manager regarding the need for an environmental review document, and the subject areas to cover; and, “will submit an environmental review document (tentatively in October 2025) that focuses on restart activities useful for the NRC’s NEPA review. It anticipates that a final EA and Finding of No Significant Impact will be issued within 12 months of acceptance of an environmental submittal.”
NextEra Energy recently filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeking to reclaim interconnection rights that were previously transferred from the shut down Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa to a solar energy project: about 40 acres of the Duane Arnold site are now occupied by a solar farm.
The 610 MWe boiling water reactor plant, owned and operated by NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC located in Linn County, Iowa, which includes the city of Cedar Rapids, IA, commenced commercial operation in 1974.
Although currently licensed for operations until 2034, the Duane Arnold plant ceased operations in 2020 and is currently “idled and in decommissioning status”, but in January, the company submitted documents including a restart overview and regulatory path to reauthorization of power operations.
Since it was shut, all the plant’s used fuel has been transferred to its Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, and most major plant systems have been drained and deenergized. Training and administrative buildings have been removed, as have the mechanical draft cooling towers, and generator output transformer and in-scope transmission lines, but the main power block buildings remain intact.
NextEra took the initial decision to move forward with D&D of the plant after a storm severely damaged the plant’s cooling towers in August 2020.
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X-Energy Gets USAF Deal to Develop its HTGR
X-energy has entered into an agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Department of the Air Force to further develop its commercial microreactor technology.
The company said it will lead efforts to demonstrate microreactors designed to supply secure, resilient energy to defense infrastructure and remote microgrids. Under the agreement, X-energy will receive support to advance the design and development of its XENITH microreactor.
The agreement supports continued design and development for the X-energy XENITH microreactor under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) program, an initiative led by DIU in partnership with the Department of the Air Force.
The program is designed to accelerate the deployment of next-generation microreactor technologies to provide resilient, secure power at military installations, and enables governmental sponsors like the Department of the Air Force to engage with X-energy under a flexible contracting mechanism that allows for faster development and deployment of commercial nuclear systems.
The XENITH microreactor was initially developed for the DOD’s mobile microreactor, Project Pele. The high-temperature, gas-cooled microreactor (HTGR) will now enter an enhanced engineering phase to achieve preliminary design maturity. The company will also begin pre-licensing discussions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for both military and commercial applications.
In addition to XENITH, X-energy is advancing the deployment of its Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor as a grid-scale energy solution for utilities, industrial customers, and hyperscalers. The company is also constructing a first-in-the-nation advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility to manufacture its proprietary TRISO-X fuel.
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Equinix Signs Off on Three Nuclear Deals for 750 MW of Power for Data Centers
(Data Center Dynamics) (World Nuclear News) US data center giant Equinix has expanded its commitment to nuclear energy, announcing three major agreements with advanced nuclear developers that together could provide up to 774MWe of power.
Only one firm selected by Equinix is based on the US. The other two are in Europe which appear to be a part of a pattern of flight of data centers from the US to Europe given the increasing levels of turmoil in the US government.
A sovereign cloud is a cloud computing solution that ensures data remains within a country’s borders and complies with local laws. By adhering to strict regulations, sovereign clouds provide enhanced security and data governance crucial for industries like government, healthcare, and finance
Some firms, like Google and Amazon, are setting up what are called “sovereign clouds” in European nations and elsewhere to protect their operations, assets, and customer data from the possibility of U.S government uncontrolled intrusion or even interruption of their operations in the US.
First Deal – The first deal was with Radiant Nuclear, a microreactor company based in El Segundo, CA. Equinix will purchase 20 Kaleidos microreactors, each designed to produce 1.2MWe and 3MWth.
The Kaleidos is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) that uses TRISO fuel, a helium gas coolant, and prismatic graphite blocks. Radiant says its modular containerized system can be deployed to deliver on-site power within days of completing it production of the unit(s) order by the customer.
Radiant is currently in pre-application talks with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and was recently named one of 11 projects in the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program. The company has completed front-end engineering and experiment design for a Kaleidos prototype, aiming for lab testing as early as mid-2026. It has not yet been disclosed where the microreactors will be deployed.
Second Deal – The second agreement is a Letter of Intent with ULC-Energy for a Power Purchase Agreement of up to 250MWe to power its data centers in the Netherlands. ULC-Energy, based in Amsterdam, is the exclusive Dutch development partner for Rolls-Royce SMR and selected the company’s 470MWe light water small modular reactor as its preferred technology in 2022.
The Rolls-Royce SMR is currently undergoing the Generic Design Assessment process with UK regulators and is targeting grid connection around 2030. In June, Rolls-Royce was named the preferred partner for Great British Energy in developing SMRs.
Third Deal – Equinix’s third deal is also its biggest and is a pre-order power agreement with Stellaria, a French nuclear company, for 500MWe to supply data centers across Europe. Founded in June 2023 by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and Schneider Electric, Stellaria is developing the world’s first molten salt Breed & Burn reactor. The design focus is for the reactor to run on low enriched uranium.
The 250MWe design breeds all of its liquid fissile fuel internally, recycles spent fuel, and burns long-life waste without refueling. Each Stellaria reactor is designed to produce 250 MWe of electricity and steam at 600F for process heat applications. The first fission reaction is targeted for 2029, with commercial operations planned for 2035.
In June, Stellaria raised €23 million ($26.8 million) to accelerate R&D, double its workforce, and complete development of its liquid-core fast-neutron reactor demonstrator. The funding round was co-led by At One Ventures and Supernova Invest, alongside CEA Investments, Schneider Electric, Exergon, and Technip Energies.
Last April, Equinix signed a pre-agreement with Oklo to procure up to 500MW of power from future fast fission plants.
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Final Investment Decision Delayed for NuScale SMR in Romania
(NucNet) The final investment decision for a 462 MW small modular reactor (SMR) at a former coal plant site in Romania could be delayed to early 2027, according to John Hopkins, chief executive officer of US-based reactor developer NuScale.
RoPower Nuclear, the joint venture established for the SMR project, intends to use NuScale’s technology for the facility in Doicesti, about 90 km northwest of the capital Bucharest.
NuScale expected RoPower to make the final investment decision early in the second quarter of 2026 at the latest. It is scheduled to be made after the completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) process. US engineering and construction company Fluor was hired for the job in July, with its subsidiary NuScale as a subcontractor.
“RoPower and the Romanian government continue to pay their bills, and we’re keeping our finger on the pulse and watching it very closely. We have almost weekly conversations on progress,” of the Feed study, Hopkins said. The final investment decision looks to be probably between mid-to-late 2026 and early 2027.”
RoPower Nuclear intends to deploy six 77 MW NuScale reactor modules at the planned facility. Deployment had originally been scheduled for around 2029.
The RoPower joint venture is undergoing a change in ownership. Its current owners, each with 50%, are state-controlled Nuclearelectrica, operator of Romania’s only nuclear plant, Cernavoda, and Nova Power and Gas, a subsidiary of E-Infra, a Romanian group of companies with operations in energy and telecom infrastructure, energy and civil construction.
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Oklo and Lightbridge in Joint Effort to Manufacture Advanced Fuels
The two firms will Evaluate Additional Co-Location Opportunities for Manufacturing Advanced Fuels from Legacy Materials
Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, and Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), an advanced nuclear technology company, announced a strategic collaboration to explore the potential co-location of a Lightbridge fuel fabrication facility within Oklo’s planned advanced fuel manufacturing facility.
This work is under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed earlier this year. Oklo and Lightbridge are jointly assessing the feasibility of commercial-scale fuel fabrication within Oklo’s planned fuel manufacturing infrastructure.
This initiative aims to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear fuels through joint fuel fabrication and research and development, including manufacturing fuel using repurposed plutonium from legacy materials. The proposed co-located facility would support the production of advanced fuels for both fast reactors and light water reactors.
The ANS Newswire reports notes that Oklo is developing fast fission power plant technology and advanced nuclear fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the DOE and national laboratories.
The firm plans to build a spent fuel reprocessing facility at the INL. Last year, the DOE approved the conceptual safety design report for Oklo’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility, to be located at the same site at the INL as the first commercial reactor. INL’s reactor R&D program is located on the Arco Desert about 50 miles west of Idaho Falls, ID.
The company received a DOE site use permit in 2019 to build and operate a prototype for its Aurora Powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory. Aurora is a liquid metal–cooled fast reactor that Oklo intends to begin deploying commercially before the end of the decade. Last year, the DOE approved the conceptual safety design report for Oklo’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility, to be located at the same site as the first commercial reactor.
Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo, said, “This collaboration supports our efforts to bolster near- and mid-term advanced reactor fuel supplies with legacy materials such as down-blended uranium and repurposed plutonium.”
Virginia-based Lightbridge is developing Lightbridge Fuel, a next-generation nuclear fuel that could be used for existing LWRs and pressurized heavy water reactors, as well as future small modular reactors. According to the company, this fuel enhances reactor safety, economics, and proliferation resistance.
Lightbridge has two long-term framework agreements with Battelle Energy Alliance, the DOE’s operating contractor for INL. The company is also participating in university-led studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Texas A&M University through the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Program.
Seth Grae, President and CEO of Lightbridge Corporation said, “This joint effort reflects a shared vision for a modern nuclear fuel cycle—one that supports both existing and advanced reactors and strengthens America’s energy resilience.”
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Fermi America and ASP Isotopes Ink MOU for HALEU Fuel
Fermi America, developer of the 11 GW private grid campus for next-generation hyperscale AI in collaboration with the Texas Tech University System, announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ: ASPI) and its subsidiary Quantum Leap Energy LLC (QLE) to explore the development of a High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) enrichment facility at Fermi America’s site in Carson County, TX, near the city of Amarillo, TX.
The planned facility would use advanced laser-based isotope separation technology to produce HALEU — a specialized nuclear fuel essential for many Generation IV and small modular reactor (SMR) designs. With very few commercial HALEU suppliers currently operating in the Western world, the project is intended to strengthen U.S. and allied supply chains, reduce reliance on Russian enrichment, and accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.
Fermi America’s private grid campus will be anchored by four AP1000 nuclear units using conventional fuel, with the potential to integrate advanced reactor technologies in future phases. These PWRs do not need HALEU. What they would provide is the power to make the advanced fuel through the laser process.
The addition of domestic HALEU production capability at the FERMI site would position the private grid as both a significant clean energy generator and a strategic nuclear fuel hub.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. HALEU demand could exceed 50 metric tons annually by 2035, with similar needs emerging in Europe and Asia. The proposed project would help meet this demand, supporting the clean energy transition while enhancing energy security.
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Clean Core Thorium Energy Hits Fuel Testing Milestone at INL ATR with HALEU/Thorium Blend
Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) a Chicago-based company developing thorium-based nuclear fuel, announced a milestone for its patented Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life (ANEEL) fuel, which it said has now reached a burnup level of over 45 gigawatt-days per metric ton in the advanced test reactor at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
This level, CCTE said, outpaces the capabilities of conventional nuclear fuels used in pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) and CANDU reactors – Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power.
The fuel, the company said, uniquely combines thorium with HALEU to offer a safer, more efficient, and proliferation-resistant alternative for existing and future PHWR and other CANDU reactor fleets worldwide.
ATR Irradiation of ANEEL Fuel
In May 2024, twelve ANEEL fuel rodlets were loaded into the ATR for irradiation to achieve three burnup level targets. The first successful irradiation of four rodlets surpassed 20 GWd/MTU last year, the company said, adding that the second set of four rodlets have exceeded 45 GWd/MTU—six to seven times the average discharge burnup for PHWR/CANDU reactors that are designed to use natural uranium fuel.
The newly irradiated rodlets are currently cooling in the ATR water pool and will soon be transferred to INL’s materials and fuels complex for detailed post-irradiation examination. The final four rodlets will remain in the ATR for continued irradiation, with expected burnup levels exceeding 60 GWd/MTU, CCTE said.
“This second burnup milestone is a transformative moment for CCTE and for the future of nuclear energy,” CCTE Thorium Energy CEO Mehul Shah said in a news release.
“ANEEL fuel is not just demonstrating superior technical performance, it’s proving that thorium-based solutions can meaningfully address global challenges of energy security, nuclear waste, and proliferation,” Shah said. “Our partnership with INL is helping unlock a new era for advanced nuclear fuels.”
Fuel Potential Performance
The company said these results reflect ANEEL fuel’s potential to redefine performance and sustainability standards in the nuclear industry.
Dr. Koroush Shirvan, Head of Fuel Design at CCTE and Professor at MIT, added:
“The collection of this data positions ANEEL™ fuel as a prime candidate for near-term deployment in PHWRs”
“ANEEL’s performance in the ATR is a strong indicator of the promise thorium-based fuels hold in supporting future energy goals and diversifying the nuclear fuel landscape,” Dr. Michael Worrall, Technical Lead for the CCTE ATR Irradiation at INL.
In February, the privately-held company raised a $15.5M Series Seed round of financing to advance the ANEEL fuel – a patented blend of thorium and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) designed to be seamlessly deployed into existing reactors.
Thorium, weakly radioactive, silvery-white metal, has been hailed as a safer and cheaper alternative to uranium in nuclear reactors. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), thorium is three times more abundant in nature than uranium, but historically has found little use in power generation due to the significant economic and technical hurdles.
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