Lancaster University in England is the home of an unusual nuclear power simulator that can be used for both fusion and fission education.

El Segundo, Calif.–based start-up Valar Atomics has taken its Ward 250 test reactor critical at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL), becoming the second company in the Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program to reach the milestone, and, according to the DOE, the first to do so outside a national laboratory.

The DOE celebrated the achievement in a June 18 announcement, describing it as a "zero-power fueled criticality demonstration." The news follows a similar update for Antares Nuclear's Mark-0 reactor, which the DOE said achieved criticality at Idaho National Laboratory earlier this month.

Nuclear project developer Elementl Power announced on June 18 its plans to build a nuclear power plant in southeast Ohio with a planned capacity of up to 1.5 GW.

Elementl already has a reactor design in mind, having reached an early works agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi to deploy the company's BWRX-300 small modular reactors. According to Elementl, construction on the first unit could begin in 2030—subject to a final investment decision and regulatory approvals—with an anticipated completion date of 2034.

This week, two significant announcements have emerged from the United Kingdom’s advanced reactor sector.

On June 14, Rolls-Royce, the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency announced that they had signed two trilateral memorandums of cooperation to collaborate on “advanced modular reactor (AMR) technology, specifically high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR), and the coated particle fuel these reactors will use.”

Separately, on June 16, Bellevue, Wash.–based TerraPower announced that its Natrium reactor design has been formally submitted for U.K. regulatory review. The company also announced the formation of a new subsidiary, TerraPower UK Ltd.

Within the span of two weeks, three Swedish companies—Blykalla, Studsvik, and Nordic Baseload Power—submitted applications to their country’s government for state aid for their respective new nuclear builds. Applications are handled by Sweden’s Ministry of Finance.

In early June, SMR developer Blykalla submitted its application to the Swedish government, followed by engineering services firm Studsvik on June 12. And on June 16, energy company Nordic Baseload Power became the latest to apply for financial support. Overall, the Swedish government has received four applications for state aid since last year.

Zeno Power announced today that it is restoring hot cell infrastructure at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center to produce radioisotope power systems (RPSs) for use in extreme environments.

“The facility is initially supporting production of strontium-90–fueled nuclear batter[ies] for undersea applications,” said Tyler Bernstein, Zeno cofounder and CEO. “Zeno is also scoping options as it seeks to rapidly scale production of nuclear batteries for space domains.”

The central magnet bundle for the National Spherical Torus Experiment–Upgrade (NSTX-U) at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has been delivered to the facility in New Jersey, the national lab recently reported. The school bus–sized, 23,000-pound magnet bundle, manufactured at Elytt Energy in Bilbao, Spain, consists of a toroidal field magnet system and an ohmic-heating magnet system.

Oklo announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Standard Nuclear to explore commercial collaboration on nuclear fuel recycling and advanced fuel manufacturing. According to Oklo, the collaboration with TRISO fuel fabricator Standard Nuclear represents the company’s first third-party offtake pathway for recycled nuclear materials, including surplus U.S. plutonium.

New York’s ambitious efforts to add at least 5 gigawatts of new nuclear power raise several questions: How much will it cost the state, the federal government, and ratepayers? Where does private investment fit into the picture? What nuclear reactor designs should developers pursue?

To provide clarity and direction to these and other concerns, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Department of Public Service issued the preliminary draft of its advanced nuclear policy options paper on June 12.

Thea Energy has announced it is working with Nvidia and Synopsys to develop a digital twin of its stellarator fusion power plant concept, called Helios.

The team, which also includes Argonne National Laboratory and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, will “analyze and scale vast datasets, rapidly evolve Thea Energy’s plant designs, and stress-test system operation in a workflow that outpaces traditional tools,” according to the company.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to prepare an environmental impact statement for its review of Holtec International’s application to site two Holtec SMR-300 reactors at the Palisades site in Covert, Mich. The two planned reactors would be known as Pioneer-1 and -2.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is seeking research proposals for a new initiative launched by its Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications called Smart Biomaterials for Next Generation Health Care Products. The agency said the program will help IAEA member states design “multifunctional, smart, high-performance biomaterials, including novel medical devices and responsive material systems.”

Operational nuclear power sites in China, May 2026. (Source: EIA, with additional data from World Bank, Global Energy Monitor, Global Nuclear Power Tracker, and the IAEA. Image: EIA)

China’s nuclear power capacity has increased from 31.4 gigawatts in 2016 to 58.7 GW in May—an 87 percent increase in the last 10 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The EIA’s analysis of China’s nuclear power growth was based on information gathered by the agency, as well as data from the World Bank, Global Energy Monitor, Global Nuclear Power Tracker, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was published on June 5.

General Atomics announced it is developing design concepts in collaboration with the Department of Energy for the Fusion Blanket Component Test Facility (BCTF), which will test full-scale breeding blankets.

“No one has tested a fusion blanket at this scale. While there are more research and development challenges ahead, a BCTF brings us closer to turning fusion from proven science into practical, sustainable power,” said Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president of the General Atomics Energy Group.

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and cleanup contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge have surpassed their first-year target for processing legacy oxide waste at the site’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC), reaching the milestone four months ahead of schedule.

Evergy’s Wolf Creek Generating Station, near Burlington, is the only nuclear power plant in Kansas. In addition to generating 20 percent of the state’s electricity—enough to power 800,000 homes—it has been generating educational opportunities by providing internships and co-op employment to nuclear engineering students from universities around the Midwest for 35 years.

Molten salt reactor developer Natura Resources announced that it has entered into a formal agreement with New York–based start-up Quadrant Nuclear Industries to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium for Natura’s commercial reactor systems.

On Thursday, Oklo announced that the Department of Energy’s Idaho Operations Office had approved the preliminary documented safety analysis (PDSA) for the company’s first deployment of its Aurora Powerhouse, which is currently under construction at Idaho National Laboratory.

It is the most recent in a long series of announcements from the 10 companies participating in the Reactor Pilot Program, which has a fast-approaching criticality deadline of July 4.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses of Hatch-1 and -2 in under 12 months, the agency announced Friday.

Southern Nuclear’s application was accepted by the NRC in June 2025. The Baxley, Ga., facility’s two boiling water reactors are the second and third units to receive subsequent license renewals under the NRC’s new, streamlined process for renewing operating licenses in 12 months or less. Previously completed SLR proceedings took, on average, about two-and-a-half years.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is to prepare an environmental impact statement in its review of Orano Enrichment’s license application to build and operate a new uranium enrichment facility near Oak Ridge, Tenn., and is asking the public for comments on the scope of its environmental review.