On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed three executive orders aimed at advancing the U.S. nuclear energy sector: Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy, and Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The orders seek to expand U.S. nuclear capacity from 100GW to 400GW by 2050, prioritizing collaboration with the nuclear industry to achieve 5GW of power upgrades to existing reactors and initiate construction of 10 new large reactors with completed designs by 2030.
The initiatives include reorganizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to streamline operations and reduce staff, while setting an 18-month deadline for licensing decisions on new reactor construction and operation. A White House statement noted: “Today’s executive orders allow for reactor design testing at DOE labs, clear the way for construction on federal lands to protect national and economic security, and remove regulatory barriers by requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue timely licensing decisions.”
The Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base order focuses on strengthening domestic fuel production, requiring a report within 240 days to address spent nuclear fuel management and advanced fuel cycle development. It also proposes ending the surplus plutonium disposal program, instead processing it for use in advanced nuclear technologies. Within 120 days, the Energy Secretary must plan to expand domestic uranium conversion and enrichment to meet civilian and defense needs.
The Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing order directs the Department of Energy to expedite advanced reactor deployment, targeting operational test reactors within two years of application submission. A pilot program aims to achieve criticality for three reactors outside national labs by July 4, 2026. The Ordering the Reform of the NRC mandates faster licensing, with deadlines of 18 months for new reactors and one year for existing reactor renewals.
At the Oval Office signing, attended by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and nuclear industry representatives, President Trump emphasized nuclear energy’s reliability, stating: “We’ll build small modular reactors, but we’ll build the big ones too.” Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President and CEO Maria Korsnick, present at the event, expressed gratitude for the focus on nuclear energy. An NEI spokesperson stated: “We appreciate the Administration’s ongoing actions to preserve existing nuclear plants and usher in the deployment of next generation nuclear.”
These measures aim to enhance energy reliability and support industries like data centers and manufacturing through advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors and Generation IV designs.
