An opportunity to request an adjudicatory hearing for Duke Energy Carolinas’ early site permit (ESP) application for the Belews Creek site in Stokes County, N.C., has been announced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The notice of the opportunity was published February 9 in the Federal Register. The deadline to file a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is April 10, 2026.

Hash Hashemian
president@ans.org

When talking about growth in the nuclear sector, there can be a somewhat myopic focus on increasing capacity from year to year. Certainly, we all feel a degree of excitement when new projects are announced, and such announcements are undoubtedly a reflection of growth in the field, but it’s important to keep in mind that growth in nuclear has many metrics and takes many forms.

Nuclear growth—beyond megawatts—also takes the form of increasing international engagement. That engagement looks like newcomer countries building their nuclear sectors for the first time. It also looks like countries with established nuclear sectors deepening their connections and collaborations. This is one of the reasons I have been focused throughout my presidency on bringing more international members and organizations into the fold of the American Nuclear Society.

The Department of Energy has restarted uranium recovery operations at the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon facility in South Carolina, a move officials say directly supports last year’s executive orders to reinvigorate the nation’s nuclear industrial base and enable the deployment of advanced reactor technologies. The work will include recovering uranium and other scarce isotopes from used nuclear fuel while advancing long-term cleanup goals at the site.

A team of nuclear safety experts with the International Atomic Energy Agency completed a five-day safety review of the SAFARI-1 reactor in Pelindaba, South Africa, focusing on aging management and continued safe operation of the 61-year-old 20-MW research reactor.

The IAEA team found that the SAFARI-1’s management and technical staff had a strong commitment to and involvement with the assessment but recommended that formal programs be established to address the aging reactor’s equipment.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency released its annual report on global electricity systems and markets on February 6, showing the output of nuclear energy at record levels in 2025. According to Electricity 2026, nuclear energy together with renewable energy sources (mainly solar) will generate about half of all global electricity by 2030, up from 42 percent today.

The visual hierarchy of stakeholder concerns used throughout the development of EPRI’s newest report on liquid fuel licensing pathways. (Source: EPRI)

The American Nuclear Society’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policy Committee (RP3C) has held another presentation in its monthly Community of Practice (CoP) series. Former RP3C chair N. Prasad Kadambi opened the meeting with brief introductory remarks about the RP3C and the need for new approaches to nuclear design that go beyond conventional and deterministic methods. He then welcomed this month’s speaker: Dan Moneghan from the Electric Power Research Institute, who presented “Characterization vs. Qualification: A Pathway to Liquid Fuel Licensing."

In a move that could lead to more U.S. nuclear companies gaining a foothold in the United Kingdom, the U.K. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published a first-of-its-kind Advanced Nuclear Framework. Key provisions in this framework include the government’s intention to create a pipeline of “credible projects” to help unlock private investment and plans to accelerate the building of new reactors to power AI data centers.

The 45-page document is organized into two parts. Part One describes the application procedure for the new U.K. Advanced Nuclear Pipeline and explains the Project Readiness Assessment process. Part Two outlines enabling conditions, such as those involving regulation, planning, technical skills, supply chains, and fuel, to help ensure that private projects have the foundations to succeed.

The newest addition to Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s materials research facilities is set to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony later this year now that construction is complete and laboratories are being phased into operation. The 100,000-square-foot, multipurpose Translational Research Capability building at ORNL houses a broad spectrum of research ranging from quantum science to energy storage, with several of the largest labs in the building focused on materials challenges for applications including nuclear fission and fusion, like the ORNL’s Corrosion Lab.

Nuclear is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. The momentum for reliable energy to support economic development around the country—specifically data centers and AI—remains strong, and strongly in favor of nuclear. And as feature coverage on the states in the January 2026 issue of Nuclear News made abundantly clear, many states now see nuclear as necessary to support rising electricity demand while maintaining a reliable grid and reaching decarbonization goals.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy awarded more than $19 million to five U.S. companies—Alpha Nur, Curio Solutions, Flibe Energy, Oklo, and Shine Technologies—to research and develop recycling technologies for spent nuclear fuel (SNF).

According to DOE-NE, the projects will support President Trump’s goal of curtailing U.S. reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium while reducing the volume of SNF stored across the country. Projects are to last up to three years and will require a minimum 20 percent cost share from each award recipient.

Members of the Pacific Fusion team pose in front of the Z Pulsed Power Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo: Pacific Fusion)

California-based Pacific Fusion, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, has reported “removing a significant roadblock to practical fusion power at scale” by achieving pulser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) with a simpler, less expensive approach than previously used.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is reporting a development in TRISO fuel research that could help evaluate high-temperature gas reactor fuels. ORNL researchers used the Spallation Neutrons and Pressure Diffractometer at the lab’s Spallation Neutron Source to make neutron scattering measurements on TRISO fuel particles containing high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced yesterday that it is launching a significant reorganization to streamline decision making, consolidate functions, and align with national goals for more efficient licensing and deployment of new nuclear technology.

The changes are intended to meet the requirements outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order 14300, “Ordering Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” and EO 14210, “Implementing the Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative.”

Nuclear waste technology company Deep Isolation Nuclear has launched a multiyear demonstration program of its deep borehole technology for disposing of nuclear waste. The full-scale, at-depth deep borehole demonstration program is being done in collaboration with Halliburton, Amentum, NAC International, and Occlusion Nuclear Solutions, along with the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center (DBDC).

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has designed a model to help assess the economic impact of future fusion power plant operations—specifically, the operation of inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants. Further, it has made its Generalized Economics Model (GEM) for Fusion Technology—an Excel spreadsheet—available for download.

The Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (EM) on Tuesday announced a partnership with California-based nuclear fuel company General Matter for the potential use of the long-idle Fuels and Materials Examination Facility (FMEF) at the Hanford Site in Washington state.

According to the announcement, the DOE and General Matter have signed a lease to explore the FMEF's potential to be used for advanced nuclear fuel cycle technologies and materials, in part to help satisfy the predicted future requirements of artificial intelligence.

Earlier this week, ANS opened the application process for the 2027 Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship, offering ANS members an opportunity to contribute directly to federal policymaking in Washington, D.C. Applications are due June 6.

Here is a recap of recent industry happenings:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

Supply chain contract signed for Aurora

Oklo, the California-based developer of the Aurora Powerhouse sodium-cooled fast-neutron reactor, has signed a contract with Siemens Energy that is meant to de-risk supply chain and production timeline challenges for Oklo. Under the terms, Siemens will design and deliver the power conversion system for the Powerhouse, which is to be deployed at Idaho National Laboratory.

Many people are familiar with Godzilla as a giant reptilian monster that emerged from the sea off the coast of Japan, the product of radioactive contamination. These days, there is a new Godzilla, but it has a positive—and entirely fact-based—association with nuclear energy. This one has emerged inside the Tokamak Assembly Preparation Building of ITER in southern France.

The end-of-January spot price for uranium was $94.28 per pound, according to uranium fuel provider Cameco. That was the highest spot price posted by the company since the $95.00 per pound it listed at the end of February 2024. Spot prices during 2025 ranged from a low of $64.23 per pound at the end of March to a high of $82.63 per pound at the end of September.