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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
S. J. Piet
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 896-901
Innovative Concepts for Power Conversion | Proceedings of the Seveth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Reno, Nevada, June 15–19, 1986) | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24850
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To greatly increase the attractiveness of fusion energy, one should focus on innovative ideas that improve the picture from three perspectives - economics, maintenance and reliability, and safety and environment. Although these differing perspectives can lead to some conflicting desires, five common desired features are apparent - (a) minimum failure rates, (b) minimum failure effects, (c) minimum complexity, (d) minimum short-term radioactivity, and (e) maximum mass power density. Achievement of many desired features cannot yet be quantified. Some innovative fusion concepts are briefly examined in the light of these commonalities.