Background
The United States is undertaking an initiative to reestablish global leadership in nuclear energy. Work is guided by four executive orders signed on May 23, 2025, that underscore the urgent national imperative to secure economic resilience, energy independence, national defense, and technological leadership.
Program Overview
Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses are a new effort to modernize the nation’s full nuclear fuel cycle by co-locating functions such as fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel, and disposition of waste. Innovation Campuses will be established through voluntary federal-state partnerships designed to advance manufacturing and regional economic growth, enhance national energy security and build a coherent end-to-end nuclear strategy for the country.
Selections
In July 2026, Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho signed Memorandums of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy to continue exploring the opportunity to become host sites.
Current Opportunities
Request for Information
DOE issued a Request for Information on January 28, 2026, inviting states to express interest in hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses to help modernize the nation’s full nuclear fuel cycle and strengthen America’s leadership in advanced nuclear energy.
Responses to the RFI were due no later than April 1, 2026.
Read the Request for Information on Establishment of Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses.
Announcements
- Read the press release announcing that Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho signed Memorandums of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy, published July 24, 2026.
- Read the press release announcing the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses RFI, published January 28, 2026.