Two participants in the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program have recently announced significant milestones on their associated reactor projects. Aalo Atomics successfully completed its final design review (FDR), and Antares Nuclear has received DOE approval of its preliminary documented safety analysis (PDSA).

It has been about three months since the Department of Energy named 10 companies for its new Reactor Pilot Program, which maps out how the DOE would meet the goal announced in May by Executive Order 14301 of having three reactors achieve criticality by July 4, 2026.

The race to bring test reactors on line by July 4, 2026, got a boost today when the Department of Energy unveiled the names of 10 companies selected for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program—a new pathway that allows reactor authorization outside national labs.

As first outlined in one of the four executive orders on nuclear energy released by President Trump on May 23 and in the request for applications for the Reactor Pilot Program released June 18, the companies must use their own money and sites—and DOE authorization—to get reactors operating. What they won’t need is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced on September 24 four new GAIN vouchers. GAIN—the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear—selected four companies to receive vouchers to advance microreactor technologies, identify potential sites capable of hosting a nuclear-powered data center, and prevent corrosion in molten salt reactors.