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2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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April 2026
Latest News
DOE Nuclear Energy Launch Pad “extends and expands” pilot programs
The Department of Energy is set to expand on its Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program by introducing the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a DOE-led program to integrate the authorization, testing, and operation of reactors and fuel facilities from private nuclear developers. Furthermore, it will include two pathways—Launch Pad INL and Launch Pad USA—with options to access Idaho National Laboratory land or other sites around the nation.
The DOE plans to transition future pilot program applicants to the new Launch Pad model. Application requirements and review criteria will mirror those used in the reactor and fuel line pilot programs, and projects already in those programs will transition to Launch Pad with no need to reapply.
2020 ANS Virtual Winter Meeting
Senior Vice President of Policy Development and Public Affairs
NEI
John Kotek is Senior Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, and is President of Nuclear Matters, a grassroots coalition of nuclear energy advocates. From 2015-2017, John served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy in the US Department of Energy. John was Staff Director to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, which in 2012 recommended a new strategy for the U.S. nuclear waste management program. John has also served as a Congressional fellow, an R&D program manager at Argonne National Laboratory-West in Idaho, and as a public affairs consultant. He holds a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
