Conferences

Last week, the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute jointly hosted the second annual Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo in Dallas, Texas. NECX serves as both a combination and evolution of ANS’s Utility Working Conference and NEI’s Nuclear Energy Assembly.

For the second year in a row, NECX brought together utilities, advanced reactor developers, suppliers, regulators, policymakers, investors, engineers, and innovators for a wide range of discussions pertaining to the present and future of the industry.

Based on attendee reactions at yesterday’s final plenary session of the Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX 2026) in Dallas, Texas, the response is mixed as to whether the United States can fulfill its ambitious plans to quadruple the country’s nuclear generating capacity by 2050. When asked whether the nation would reach that goal, a number of hands in the room went up. But when asked the opposite, several hands also went up.

Moderator Jon Colby told attendees to think positively about the long term.

The second day of the Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX 2026) kicked off with success stories on the start-up and state levels.

In Wednesday’s opening plenary session, representatives of three of the four companies that reached criticality on or before Executive Order 14301’s July 4 target date—Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, and Deployable Energy—talked about the run-up to meeting the deadline. Following the opener, officials from Kentucky, New York, and Utah discussed ambitious plans to expand nuclear power in their respective states.

The second annual Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX 2026), hosted in Dallas, Texas, kicked off this morning with an exciting opening plenary that saw leaders from government, regulation, and industry discussing the unprecedented opportunities now open to the nuclear sector.

NECX, the premier nuclear industry conference cohosted by the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute, is all about leveraging those opportunities.

What fuels the future of nuclear? Whether it is low-enriched uranium, LEU+, or high-assay low-enriched uranium, one of the answers is in the question itself: fuel.

Earlier this week, the American Nuclear Society’s Fuel Cycle & Waste Management Division hosted Global 2026, with the theme of “Deploying Sustainable Nuclear Fuel Cycles.”

During one plenary session, “Fueling the Future of Nuclear,” panelists from Urenco USA, Centrus Energy, General Matter, and Global Laser Enrichment shared with attendees how the companies were contributing to the front end of the fuel cycle—more specifically, by launching or expanding their respective enrichment services.

The East Tennessee Economic Council’s Nuclear Opportunities Workshop opened yesterday morning at the Knoxville Convention Center, drawing registrants from around the country, and will close later today following a packed lineup of policy and industry leaders.

Global is a series of international conferences covering aspects of nuclear technology including the full nuclear fuel cycle and reactor systems. This year, Global 2026—which is sponsored by the American Nuclear Society’s Fuel Cycle & Waste Management Division—is taking place August 16–20 in Chicago, Ill.

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

There may have been no more fitting place to gather for a conversation about the future of nuclear energy than Colorado.

For the nuclear community, Colorado carries a special resonance. About an hour north of Denver stands Fort St. Vrain. Today, it is a garden-variety natural gas power plant. But there was a time it was an ambitious nuclear reactor—a high-temperature gas reactor with helium coolant and a uranium-thorium fuel cycle. It was ahead of its time in many ways and imperfect in execution, but unmistakably part of the long story of nuclear innovation in America.

Colorado is a state shaped by frontiers. We, too, are standing at a frontier, which brings me to this year’s conference theme: “Net Out, Power Up.” We chose this theme to reflect the complementary challenges facing two parts of our community. “Net Out” reflects fusion’s challenge: proving you can get more energy out than you put in. “Power Up” reflects fission’s challenge: scaling advanced nuclear technologies quickly enough to meet rising demand.

The second annual Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX 2026)—which promises to bring together the full nuclear energy ecosystem to focus on real-world progress in the sector—will be held August 24–27 in Dallas, Texas.

Now is a good time to register for the 15th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 23rd American Nuclear Society Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (ICRS15-RPSD2026), which will be held October 25–29.

The final executive session of the American Nuclear Society’s 2026 Annual Conference was titled “With Great Processing Power Comes Great Responsibility: Ethics and Opportunities for AI and Tomorrow’s Workforce.”

Twice per year, the American Nuclear Society confers Presidential Citations on individuals who have demonstrated outstanding efforts benefiting ANS or the broader nuclear community.

Last week at the opening plenary of the 2026 ANS Annual Conference in Denver, Colo., immediate past president of ANS Hash Hashemian named this season’s recipients of the award.

The applications of nuclear energy extend beyond providing power to the electrical grid. Advanced nuclear technologies may soon have new applications in oil and gas facilities, in hospitals and clinics, on the open seas, and on the moon.

A June 1 executive session, “How Nuclear Technologies will Shape the Future Energy Economy,” at the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference allowed experts have an open discussion on the future of nuclear advancements in multiple sectors.

Nuclear power currently appears to have the wind at its back, with growing demand for clean, reliable energy from industry (think data centers) and strong political support for new projects. But getting there still will require a lot of pieces to yet fall into place. It is, as American Nuclear Society CEO Craig Piercy said, a “chicken and egg” problem: Which comes first, the fuel to supply new reactors or the reactors that will create a demand for new fuel?

On Tuesday, during Mark Peters’s last days as the American Nuclear Society’s vice president/president-elect before assuming the presidency on June 4, he sat down with ANS CEO Craig Piercy for a Fireside Chat at the Annual Conference.

The MITRE CEO weighed in on his career path, what excites and worries him about the resurgence of nuclear energy, and juggling work-life balance with his new duties as ANS’s 72nd president.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s an important year,” he told Piercy.

At the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference on June 1, an executive session covered the increasingly prominent subject of nuclear applications in the civilian maritime industry.

Panelists who presented during “Advancing Nuclear Powered Maritime Shipping” highlighted the fact that the commercial shipping industry, the nuclear industry, and government agencies are looking at nuclear power as a solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 3 percent of which are attributed to commercial shipping.

Yesterday, the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference got off to an exciting start with an opening plenary that in its first half featured extensive commentary from ANS CEO Craig Piercy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Ho Nieh, the Department of Energy’s Michael Goff, and several others key leaders in the U.S. nuclear industry.

The nuclear community descended on Denver, Colo., this week for the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference, which opened with a packed room and inspiring words from multiple speakers.

The noticeable exuberance within the nuclear community as a whole appears to have spilled over into the waste management sphere as well, judging from the 2026 Waste Management Conference, held March 8–12 in Phoenix, Ariz., and sponsored by Waste Management Symposia.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Efficient and Innovative Nuclear Materials and Technology Solutions,” and many of the scheduled panels and technical sessions revolved around how nuclear growth and technological advancements are affecting the back end of the fuel cycle, as well as how the cleanup of legacy sites is enabling new nuclear development.

The American Nuclear Society’s 2026 Annual Conference is coming up fast. From May 31 to June 3, leaders from across the nuclear industry will gather in Denver, Colo., to discuss the state of the industry and emerging opportunities.

To register for the conference, make hotel reservations, and explore the full program, visit ans.org/meetings/ac2026/.