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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
C. R. Gould, R. O. Nelson, J. R. Williams, J. R. Boyce
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 55 | Number 3 | November 1974 | Pages 267-272
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE74-A23453
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Absolute cross-section measurements for reactions among light-mass nuclei (A < 10) are important in feasibility studies of controlled thermonuclear reactor systems. For a 6Li-d fueled fusion reactor, the 6Li (p,3He)α reaction is of particular interest. The absolute cross sections for this reaction are incomplete and poorly known and have accordingly been remeasured in the range Ep = 3 to 12 MeV. The results support recent measurements below 3 MeV in finding the cross section to be higher in this region than previously supposed. Additional results for the 6Li(p,p)6Li and 6Li(p,p′)6Li* reactions imply the cross sections for these reactions are ∼40% higher than earlier measurements. A plot of the Maxwell-averaged reaction rate parameter, , for the 6Li(p,3He)α reaction is presented as a function of kT, the temperature of a p – 6Li plasma.