FACT SHEET: The Golden Era of American Nuclear Energy Has Arrived

THANKS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP, THE AMERICAN NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE HAS ARRIVED

• After decades of stagnation and regulatory paralysis, America's nuclear power industry is roaring back thanks to President Trump.
• On Friday, July 24, 2026, the Trump Administration celebrated achieving President Trump's ambitious goal of bringing three new advanced test reactors to criticality by July 4, 2026, as detailed in President Trump’s May 2025 executive order, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy.” 
  • The Energy Department delivered and exceeded this milestone—achieving criticality of four advanced reactors by the July 4 deadline.
  • In total, President Trump has signed four executive orders related to unleashing commercial American nuclear energy: 
    • Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security – The White House 
    • Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – The White House 
    • Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy – The White House 
    • Reinvigorating The Nuclear Industrial Base – The White House
       
• Under President Trump’s leadership, next-generation advanced reactors are moving toward deployment at a rapid pace, licensing has been streamlined, supply chains for nuclear fuel are being strengthened, and retired nuclear plants are being brought back online.
• Building out the next generation of American nuclear is an investment in our nation’s growing energy needs, and once built, these plants will deliver affordable, reliable electricity for generations to come.

THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT IS DELIVERING NEW ADVANCED NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY

• In June 2025, the Energy Department launched the Reactor Pilot Program, to accomplish President Trump’s goal of accelerating the deployment of advanced reactors and achieving criticality of at least three reactors by America’s 250^th birthday. 
  • In August 2025, Energy Department announced 11 initial selections for advanced reactor projects.
  • The 10 companies selected include: Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, Atomic Alchemy, Deep Fission, Last Energy, Oklo, Natura Resources, Radiant Industries, Terrestrial Energy, and Valar Atomics.
  • Four of the Reactor Pilot Program projects would be hosted at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site, including Radiant (KDU), Antares (Mark-0), Aalo (Aalo-X), and Oklo (Aurora).  
• On June 4, 2026, the Energy Department celebrated Antares Nuclear’s advanced reactor, Mark-0, successfully reaching criticality through a test demonstration at INL.
  • This achievement was the first time in over 40 years that a new privately developed non-light-water nuclear reactor reached criticality in America.
  • The zero-power fueled criticality demonstration confirmed the reactor would be able to operate safely and established a baseline for allowing subsequent reactors to produce electricity in 2027 and the following years.
• On June 18, 2026, the Energy Department announced Valar Atomics’ advanced test reactor, Ward 250, successfully reached criticality at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Emery County, Utah.
• On June 30, 2026, Deployable Energy’s Unity completed a criticality demonstration, also hosted at INL—marking the third reactor to reach criticality ahead of the July 4 deadline.
• On July 4, 2026, Aalo Atomics’ test reactor, Aalo-X, completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration at INL, marking the fourth reactor to reach the Energy Department’s criticality milestone.

THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT IS SUPPORTING NEW NUCLEAR PROJECTS AND BRINGING REACTORS BACK ONLINE

• Thanks to the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), bolstered by the Working Families Tax Cut, the Energy Department is bringing previously shuttered nuclear power plants back online, and financing the development of new nuclear projects in the United States.
  • On June 23, 2026, the Energy Department announced financing for long-lead time supply chain items to accelerate the timeline for the deployment of 10 new large-scale commercial nuclear reactors.
  • The Energy Department is supporting the restart of previously shut-down nuclear power plants; including, Palisades 800 MW nuclear generating station in Michigan, and the Crane Restart project—an 835 MW nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. More restarts are expected to be announced in the future.
  • In March 2026, the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy (in collaboration with EDF) launched the Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort (UPRISE) initiative to accelerate domestic nuclear energy production.
    • UPRISE aims to add 2.5 GW of nuclear capacity by 2027, and 5 GW by 2029—the equivalent of five new nuclear reactor years sooner than any other nuclear technology.

THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT IS UNLEASHING NUCLEAR INFRASTRUCTURE AND ADVANCING SUPPLY CHAINS FOR NUCLEAR POWER

• The Trump Administration and the Energy Department have taken sweeping, coordinated actions to rebuild U.S. nuclear infrastructure, restore America’s nuclear supply chain and support the entire nuclear lifecycle. 
  • April 9, 2025: The Energy Department made conditional commitments to provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to five U.S. nuclear developers to meet their near-term fuel needs.
  • July 16, 2025: The Energy Department announced the start of the Fuel Line Pilot Program to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear reactors and strengthen domestic supply chains for nuclear fuel. 
  • July 24, 2025: The Energy Department announced four site selections for AI data center and energy infrastructure development on federal lands—INL, Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and Savannah River Site.
  • August 26, 2025: The Energy Department made a second round of conditional commitments to provide HALEU to three U.S. companies to meet near-term fuel needs. 
  • September 30, 2025: The Energy Department selected four companies for Advanced Nuclear Fuel Line Pilot Projects in order to strengthen domestic supply chains for nuclear fuel. 
  • October 28, 2025: The U.S. Government established a strategic partnership with Cameco Corporation and Brookfield Asset Management to accelerate the development of Westinghouse’s nuclear reactor technologies in the United States and abroad. 
  • December 2, 2025: The Energy Department awarded $800 million to TVA and Holtec to advance U.S. deployment of advanced light-water SMRs.
  • January 5, 2026: The Energy Department announced a $2.7 billion investment to strengthen domestic uranium enrichment, in support of President Trump’s commitment to expand U.S. capacity for low-enriched uranium and jumpstart new supply chains and innovations for high assay low enriched uranium. 
  • January 28, 2026: The Energy Department released a Request for Information (RFI) for states to express interest in hosting Nuclear Lifestyle Innovation Campuses—a new effort to modernize the country’s nuclear fuel cycle.
  • February 5, 2026: The Energy Department awarded $19 million to five U.S. companies to research and develop recycling technologies for used nuclear fuel. 
  • March 5, 2026: The Energy Department and the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), announced the establishment of the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad—building on the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program—to promote the development of advanced nuclear technologies by the private industry.
  • April 23, 2026: The Energy Department announced the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Consortium under the Defense Production Act, to secure the nation’s nuclear fuel supply chain and power the current nuclear reactor fleet.
  • May 14, 2026: The Energy Department announced the selection of eight companies to support the near-term deployment of advanced light-water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States.

To read more about the Trump administration’s efforts to unleash American nuclear energy, click here.