The Department of Energy launched President Trump's Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program on August 12, 2025, selecting 11 advanced reactor projects with a goal of constructing, operating, and achieving criticality in at least three test reactors by July 4, 2026. The program uses DOE authorization under the Atomic Energy Act as a faster pathway than standard NRC commercial licensing.
The selected projects span the full range of advanced reactor technologies and include designs from Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, Atomic Alchemy, Deep Fission, Last Energy, Oklo, Natura Resources, Radiant Industries, Terrestrial Energy, and Valar Atomics. Each company bears all costs for design, manufacture, construction, operation, and decommissioning of its test reactor. Companies that reach criticality gain access to private funding opportunities tied to DOE program participation and a streamlined path toward future commercial licensing.
DOE Deputy Secretary James P. Danly called the program a call to action and said the department would support every company working toward the Independence Day milestone.
The Reactor Pilot Program reflects the most aggressive accelerated deployment strategy the federal government has attempted for advanced reactors. Combined with TerraPower's commercial-scale construction permit, the NANO Nuclear KRONOS acceptance at the University of Illinois, and multiple license renewals for existing plants, the program represents one of the most active periods in U.S. nuclear regulatory history since the 1970s.
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