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 by executive order in May of having three reactors achieve criticality by July 4, 2026.

Mike Kramer has a background in finance, not engineering, but a combined 20 years at Exelon and Constellation and a key role in the deals that have Meta and Microsoft buying power from Constellation’s Clinton and Crane sites have made him something of a nuclear expert.

Kramer spoke with Nuclear News staff writer Susan Gallier in late August, just after a visit to Clinton in central Illinois to celebrate a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta that closed in June. As Constellation’s vice president for data economy strategy, Kramer was part of the deal-making—not just the celebration.

The “space race” is once again making headlines, with technology worthy of the 21st century. Like the Cold War–era competition, this race too is about showcasing power—but this time it's nuclear power.

A new article in Power Technology examines the competing efforts of the United States, Russia, and China as they strive to be the first to put a nuclear reactor on the moon to power a lunar base, detailing the technical challenges and international rivalries.

The New Mexico Nuclear Alliance made its official debut as a nuclear energy advocate in late October, when founder Scott Lopez spoke with state lawmakers during a meeting of the New Mexico legislature’s Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee, held at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Hawthorne, Calif.–based reactor start-up Valar Atomics recently announced that it has raised $130 million in its Series A funding round, led by venture capital groups Snowpoint, Day One, and Dream.

Canada’s Fusion Fuel Cycles Inc. (FFC), a joint venture between Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Japan’s Kyoto Fusioneering, announced that it has officially entered the construction phase of its flagship project, the Unique Integrated Testing Facility (UNITY-2), at CNL’s Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario.

The U.S. Supreme Court may once again scrutinize the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to license consolidated interim storage facilities for commercial spent nuclear fuel. The antinuclear group Beyond Nuclear has filed a petition with the court for a writ of certiorari review of an August 2024 appeals court decision rejecting the group’s lawsuit against the licensing of Holtec International’s New Mexico storage facility, the HI-STORE CISF.

The Department of Energy’s Idaho Operations Office has approved the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement (NSDA) for Oklo Inc.’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at Idaho National Laboratory. The A3F is being built to fabricate fuel assemblies for Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse, a liquid metal–cooled, metal-fueled fast reactor with a maximum power of 75 MWe.

Advanced reactor and fuel developer X-energy has officially begun confirmatory irradiation testing at Idaho National Laboratory on its TRISO-X fuel. The testing, which is taking place over the course of the next 13 months, will evaluate the fuel across a variety of operating scenarios and—if all goes according to plan—will be instrumental in qualifying it for commercial use.

At the American Nuclear Society’s Winter Conference & Expo, leaders of advanced reactor start-ups Radiant Industries, Oklo, and Valar Atomics praised the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program, in which the companies are participating. The program aims to get at least three reactors on line by July 4, 2026.

BWX Technologies and Purdue University have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research focused on next-generation nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors and microreactors.

In a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Source Security Working Group (SSWG) is urging the U.S. government to withhold from imposing tariffs on Canadian-orgin cobalt-60 and to preserve the duty-free treatment of the radioisotope.

During speeches at the American Nuclear Society’s Winter Conference & Expo, happening this week in Washington, D.C., Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright both promised that the Trump administration will speed up nuclear reviews so the U.S. can maintain leadership in nuclear energy.

The DOE’s Wright took a stab at the NRC’s traditionally slow bureaucratic processes in approving primarily large light water reactors in the past, saying that the agency needs to speed up to meet the greater demand for new small modular reactors.

An end-of-October spot price for uranium of $80.00 per pound—down from the year high of $82.63 per pound in September—is still substantially higher than the year’s lowest price of $64.23 per pound at the end of March, according to uranium fuel provider Cameco.

Newcomer reactor start-up First American Nuclear (FANCO) has partnered with the state of Indiana to develop three projects: its company headquarters, new manufacturing facilities, and a nuclear energy park.

Holtec International has completed a spent nuclear fuel dry storage campaign at NextEra Energy’s St. Lucie nuclear power plant in record time, according to the company. Twelve of Holtec's HI-STORM FW cask systems were loaded to the plant’s independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) in little over one month. In total, 144 spent fuel assemblies were moved from St. Lucie’s used fuel pools to the ISFSI pad.

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.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have completed a draft supplemental environmental impact statement for a small modular reactor at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The American Nuclear Society recently hosted a webinar charting the programs and resources that the Society can provide to students, educators, and the public regarding nuclear science and technology education—with a particular focus on the K–12 space. The webinar, led by ANS senior manager of STEM programs Uchenna Ezibe, also provided updates on the progress and future of ANS STEM efforts.

Click here to watch the full webinar.

California-based Advetage Solutions has been awarded a mentor-protégé agreement with Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo), the maintenance and operations contractor for cleanup activities at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state.