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.

David Wright

Chris Wright

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.

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.

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 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.