Features

Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.

The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.

The core of Pile No. 1 at Windscale caught fire in the fall of 1957. The incident, rated a level 5, “Accident with Wider Consequences,” by the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), has since inspired nuclear safety culture, risk assessment, accident modeling, and emergency preparedness. Windscale also helped show how important communication and transparency are to gaining trust and public support.

When Constellation decided to install replacement Alstom low-pressure turbines at three of its boiling water reactor plants more than 15 years ago, one benefit was knowing the new turbines should operate reliably—and without major inspections—for several years.

. . . and in 2019, on his 90th birthday.

Swanson in 1951, the year of his college graduation . . .

My pre-college years were spent in a rural suburb of Tacoma, Wash. In 1947, I enrolled in Reed College, a small liberal arts school in Portland, Ore.; I majored in chemistry and graduated in 1951. While at Reed, I met and married a young lady with whom I would raise 3 children and spend the next 68 years of my life—almost all of them in Richland, Wash., where I still live.

I was fortunate to have a job each of my “college summers” that provided enough money to cover my college costs for the next year; I don’t think that is possible these days. My job was in the kitchen/dining hall of a salmon cannery in Alaska. Room and board were provided and the cannery was in an isolated location, so I could save almost every dollar of my salary.

Each year, the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) recognizes graduate and undergraduate students for their innovative nuclear energy research. The winners of the Innovations in Nuclear Energy Research and Development Student Competition (INSC) receive honoraria along with travel and conference opportunities, including the chance to present their publications at the annual American Nuclear Society Winter Conference & Expo.

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

These days, the ship of civil nuclear technology we are all aboard is sailing through a turbulent passage. The winds and currents are favorable, but there are swells ahead: steep energy-­demand projections, buoyant equity valuations, splashy announcements, a generational realignment of nuclear policies and institutional norms.

Part of the reason we chose “Building the Nuclear Century” as the theme for this year’s Winter Conference was to put some ballast in the hull of the nuclear conversation.

Advanced nuclear fission and fusion energy development are accelerating, both here and around the world. And yet, at least in the U.S., we are still years away from connecting commercial Gen IV systems to our grid.

In a world growing increasingly impatient, how do we stay on task and deliver? There are three ingredients to success.

Hash Hashemian
president@ans.org

At the time of this writing, it is only a few days before the American Nuclear Society’s 2025 Winter Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C., which is set to be an unmissable gathering of key nuclear leaders from across the United States and the world. Over the past three weeks, I have been working doggedly to obtain nearly $500,000 in sponsorships and recruit speakers for the conference.

I am thankful for the many generous donors—such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and Constellation—who continue to enable ANS to serve its members, in part by putting on the best conferences we possibly can.

I conducted much of my fundraising and recruitment while I was traveling to represent ANS at various universities, laboratories, and conferences. As I’ve mentioned before, I am focused on developing criteria around where ANS presidents travel to ensure that our resources are spent wisely; I am working with ANS past president Gail Marcus (2001–2002) to develop those criteria now, and in the meantime, I have been judicious in deciding which invitations to accept.

Here is a recap of recent industry happenings:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

Agreement signed on advanced nuclear technology in space

Texas-based space technology and orbital logistics developer Space Ocean Corporation and New Mexico–­based space nuclear power systems developer Space Nuclear Power Corporation (SpaceNukes) have signed a letter of intent to explore the integration of advanced nuclear reactor technology into future space missions. Space Ocean agreed to test SpaceNukes’ 10-kilowatt microreactor aboard its ALV-N satellite and, if performance criteria are met, to use SpaceNukes as a core supplier of reactors for future Space Ocean lunar and planetary missions. The companies also agreed to examine the integration of fluid delivery systems with reactor modules, to collect operational data to support technology readiness certification, and to form a joint working group to pursue additional space infrastructure and commercial opportunities.

Along with several other nations, Canada has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. Part of this plan is tripling nuclear generating capacity. As of 2025, the country has four operating nuclear generating stations with a total of 17 reactors, 16 of which are in the province of Ontario. The Independent Electricity System Operator has recommended that an additional 17,800 MWe of nuclear power be added to Ontario’s grid.

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

As 2025 winds down, it seems nuclear energy in the U.S. is now well on its way toward a renaissance, or resurgence, or whatever optimistic term you may use in your daily conversations.

New reactor designs, projects, and partnerships are being announced on a near-weekly basis; valuations of publicly traded nuclear companies are hovering near all-time highs; and AI’s thirst for reliable, clean electricity remains largely unquenched. The overall investment climate for nuclear energy has thawed dramatically. These days, it seems everyone from big Wall Street banks to individual investors is trying to get a piece of the nuclear action.

It’s the perfect time to talk about failure.

Yes, I know “nuclear failure” is not a topic on which we in the nuclear community like to dwell. For those of a certain age, it brings back bad memories of events beyond our control that shifted the trajectory of companies, careers, and lives for decades.

Last year, we proudly launched the inaugural Nuclear News 40 Under 40 list to shine a spotlight on the exceptional young professionals driving the nuclear sector forward as the nuclear community faces a dramatic generational shift. We weren’t sure how a second list would go over, but once again, our members resoundingly answered the call, confirming what we already knew: The nuclear community is bursting with vision, talent, and extraordinary dedication.

Dale Klein

This article was adapted from the author’s speech during a plenary at the 21st International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials (PATRAM 2025), San Antonio, Texas, July 2025.

There has been a lot of discussion lately about reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But I want to be clear: When it comes to nuclear safety and security, there is no place for partisan politics. I support efforts to streamline regulatory processes, but the independence and integrity of the NRC must remain sacrosanct. If we are serious about expanding nuclear power and reclaiming our global leadership in nuclear technology, having a strong independent regulator is fundamental.

Right now, we’re on the edge of a global nuclear resurgence driven by rising demand from data centers, growing concerns about energy security, and the need to decarbonize industry.

Levinson early in his career and today.

As a member of the American Nuclear Society, I have been to many conferences. The International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA ’25), embedded in ANS Annual Meeting in Chicago in June, held special significance for me with the PSA ’25 opening plenary session recognizing the 50^th anniversary of the publication of WASH-1400, which helped define my career. Reflecting on that milestone sent me back to 1975, when I was just an undergraduate student studying nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y., focusing on my mechanics, fluids, and thermodynamic classes as well as my first set of nuclear engineering classes. At that time—and many times since—the question “Why nuclear engineering?” was raised.

Idaho National Laboratory is playing a key role in helping the U.S. Department of Energy meet near-­term needs by recovering HALEU from federal inventories, providing critical support to help lay the foundation for a future commercial HALEU supply chain. INL also supports coordination of broader DOE efforts, from material recovery at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to commercial enrichment initiatives.

The Hallam nuclear power plant, about 25 miles southwest of Lincoln, Neb., was an important part of the Atomic Energy Commission’s Reactor Power Demonstration Program. But in the end, it operated for only 6,271 hours and generated about 192.5 million kilowatt-hours of electric power during its short, 15-month life.

With the months rolling by, the time is coming for the American Nuclear Society to hold its second annual conference of the year. The 2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo, with a theme of “Building the Nuclear Century,” will take place November 9–12 in Washington, D.C., at the Washington Hilton.

At the Idaho National Laboratory Hot Fuel Examination Facility, containment box operator Jake Maupin moves a manipulator arm into position around a pencil-thin nuclear fuel rod. He is preparing for a procedure that he and his colleagues have practiced repeatedly in anticipation of this moment in the hot cell.

Here is a recap of recent industry happenings:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

New international partnership to speed Xe-100 SMR deployment

X-energy, Amazon, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and Doosan Enerbility have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactors and TRISO fuel in the United States to meet the power demands from data centers and AI. The partners will collaborate in reactor engineering design, supply-chain development, construction planning, investment strategies, long-term operations, and global opportunities for joint AI-nuclear deployment. The companies also plan to jointly mobilize as much as $50 billion in public and private investment to support advanced nuclear energy in the U.S.

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

While most big journeys begin with a clear objective, they rarely start with an exact knowledge of the route. When commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson didn’t provide specific “turn right at the big mountain” directions to the Corps of Discovery. He gave goal-oriented instructions: explore the Missouri River, find its source, search for a transcontinental water route to the Pacific, and build scientific and cultural knowledge along the way.

Jefferson left it up to Lewis and Clark to turn his broad, geopolitically motivated guidance into gritty reality.

Similarly, U.S. nuclear policy has begun a journey toward closing the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle. There is a clear signal of support for recycling from the Trump administration, along with growing bipartisan excitement in Congress. Yet the precise path remains unclear.

Idaho National Laboratory under the Department of Energy–sponsored Microreactor Program recently conducted a comprehensive phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) exercise aimed at advancing heat pipe technology for microreactor applications.