Ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump in Executive Order 14301, the nuclear community has been following the developments of the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program, in which companies have been pursuing DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. The EO set an ambitious goal of three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have recommended the agency issue a construction permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority for its plans to construct a GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) BWRX-300 reactor at the Clinch River site in Tennessee, according to the safety evaluation report published as part of the construction permit application process.

The recommendation to the commissioners is a boon for the project, which proposes constructing a 300-MWe boiling water reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The June report—available in the NRC ADAMS library—presents the NRC staff’s review of TVA’s 2025 application and any additional information staff received through April of this year.

NASA has announced that it will release a solicitation related to lunar surface power this month and that it is considering sending a rover powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to the moon.

The American Museum of Science and Energy recently hosted national technical director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and American Nuclear Society member Paul Cantonwine on its podcast, AMSEcast. There, Cantonwine discussed the creation of the nuclear navy and the life of Admiral Hyman George Rickover.

Updates from utility companies in Colorado and Arizona, nuclear legislation and discussions, and the potential Duane Arnold restart were among the news items in the month of June at the local and state levels.

Last week, Canadian nuclear and engineering company AtkinsRéalis announced that it has formally submitted a notice of intent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission “to begin the licensing process” for its CANDU reactor technology in the United States.

Completing an international commitment between the two countries, the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) delivered the third and final shipment of vitrified high-level radioactive waste to Germany, the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) announced last week.

New calculations by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory suggest that changing the polarization of the National Ignition Facility’s lasers could reduce backscatter, an effect that can make an optic unusable after a single shot.

For just over a year, President Trump’s Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy,” has loomed large because it pegged a stretch goal to a significant date: July 4, 2026. Will there be at least three participants in the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program whose reactors achieve criticality by Saturday’s deadline?

Continuing its breakneck pace of introducing new rules and proposals, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week announced that it was proposing to amend its regulations under 10 CFR Part 61 governing the land disposal of low-level radioactive waste.

The proposed rule, which introduces a new risk-informed framework for LLW disposal in which sites can develop waste acceptance criteria based on site-specific characteristics, is one of several rules the NRC is seeking to finalize and issue in response to Executive Order 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

Holtec president Rick Springman (left) and EDF CFO Rob Guyler pose with the signed joint proposal for deployment of Holtec’s SMR-300 at Cottam. (Photo: Holtec)

Jupiter, Fla.–headquartered Holtec International has announced that it and London-based EDF Energy have jointly submitted a proposal to the government of the United Kingdom for deployment of Holtec’s SMR-300 small modular reactors at Cottam, Nottinghamshire. Holtec International and EDF Energy have established a joint venture to advance development of the proposed SMR project at the site in England’s East Midlands, which hosts a gas-fired power plant and previously hosted a coal plant.

In 2019, a familiar landmark at Idaho National Laboratory was scheduled for demolition. Though striking for both its physical presence and its significance to nuclear history, the containment dome that once housed Experimental Breeder Reactor-II sat unused—that is, until INL realized its potential as a reactor testing facility.

The Department of Energy’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear has recently awarded four third-round fiscal year 2026 vouchers to support the development of innovative nuclear technologies. Each company will get access to specific capabilities and expertise in the DOE’s national laboratory complex—in this round of awards Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories are named—and will be responsible for a minimum 20 percent cost share, which can be an in-kind contribution.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management issued a draft request for proposals on June 25 for the Hanford Site’s 222-S Laboratory contract. The 222-S Laboratory is the primary on-site laboratory for analysis of highly radioactive samples in support of all projects at the DOE’s Hanford Site in Washington state.

International cooperation in the monitoring of radiation levels in seawater near the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues. Scientists from China, South Korea, and Switzerland were recently joined by International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi as they collected seawater samples under the “additional measures” framework, which was adapted in 2024 to increase the participation of other countries and enhance the transparency of the IAEA-led analyses.

In 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14300, “‘Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” which directs the NRC to conduct a sweeping, multifaceted overhaul of its structure, culture, and regulations with the aim of facilitating increased deployment of new nuclear technologies and capacity.

Having completed deactivation work, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is set to begin demolition in July of a cluster of highly contaminated buildings at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced this week.

“But what about the waste?” Whether pronuclear, on the fence, or opposed, this common refrain still applies: Spent nuclear fuel is a challenge that needs action on clear solutions. Now, the International Atomic Energy Agency has a new tool to help people visualize the issue.

With its new online “Spent Fuel Management: The Inventory Status” tool, the IAEA has provided an important resource for investigating the amount of SNF produced by reactors around the world and how it is currently stored.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's launching of its environmental review of Holtec International's two SMR-300 reactors at the Palisades site in Michigan and its proposed changes to fuel cycle and materials licensing regulations may have grabbed the most attention recently, but the agency has also announced multiple other updates in recent weeks.

Canada has launched a Nuclear Energy Strategy, a long-term vision of its nuclear power potential that includes plans to deploy up to 10 new large-scale reactors in the country by 2040.

The June 22 announcement, along with ongoing projects at Darlington and Bruce Power, further confirm Canada's ambitions to expand its nuclear power presence not just domestically but also abroad. Four pillars stand at the heart of the country’s Nuclear Energy Strategy: new nuclear builds in Canada, maintaining its status as a top nuclear supplier and exporter, expanding uranium production, and continuing nuclear fission and fusion innovations.