The State of Nuclear: The industry today
American Nuclear Society Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy recently hosted the most recent installment of “The State of Nuclear,” the Society’s periodic webinar series that explores current events with an eye toward their impact on the future of nuclear technology and professionals.
Leaders from across the U.S. nuclear industry discussed the ramifications on the sector of living in “Dickensian times,” as Piercy put it, covering the current administration and its priorities, domestic and global development, and building at scale.
To view the full discussion, visit ANS’s YouTube channel.
Today’s optimism: Piercy kicked off the conversation with a simple question to each panelist: How are we doing? For Todd Abrajano, president and CEO at the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, the state of the industry is healthy. Projects are moving—between TerraPower in Wyoming, X-energy and Dow’s partnership, Westinghouse’s work in Poland, and private investment in domestic HALEU production—and excitement around and belief in a nuclear future are evident. Abrajano also said that the World Bank’s potential shift in policy to fund nuclear projects will have a large impact on investment around the world, as many lenders may follow in their footsteps.
When asked the same question, John Kotek, senior vice president of policy development and public affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, pointed to growing support among consumers for nuclear power as a sign of a strong future. Renewed recognition of nuclear as clean, firm power starting with the public and moving up to representatives is heartening, he said, and goes a long way to establishing long-term bipartisan interest in future development.
Amy Roma, partner and global energy practice leader at Hogan Lovells, was hopeful for the industry as well. The wave of new reactor applications and continuing “love affair between AI data centers and nuclear” signal that there are many corporations acting behind the scenes with public announcements of new development in the near term very likely.
Tempering expectations: Judi Greenwald, executive director at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, was more cautiously optimistic in her answer. Considering the NIA’s chief concern of establishing nuclear as a major energy security—cost competitiveness, public acceptance, getting to market, and scaling—Greenwald said that the private sector–led, government-enabled model for energy commercialization required consistent, strong momentum from government side. While momentum is here today, she warned that sustaining support is key to future commercial liftoff.
Go deeper: The full discussion, which explores all of these topics and more at greater length, is available on ANS’s YouTube channel.
The next installment of the “State of Nuclear” will be held live at the ANS Annual Meeting on Monday, June 16, at 2:00 p.m. (ET). Register for the conference now!
