Nuclear energy generates 19% of the United States’ electricity and supports 120,000 jobs while producing no emissions. The U.S. is the world leader in nuclear power production and is home to 94 of the world's 411 operating reactors. The newest commercial reactor was commissioned at the Vogtle Generating Plant in Georgia.
The market for new nuclear energy is growing globally. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that nuclear power capacity must double globally to 812 GW by 2050 to reach net zero goals. Additionally, at COP28, more than 20 countries, including the U.S., joined a declaration to triple global nuclear energy by 2050. Globally, people support nuclear energy 5:1, and in the U.S. nuclear energy enjoys broad bipartisan support of 76%.
Nuclear power can provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy without producing emissions or pollutants that affect the air and water. Innovative American companies are on the cusp of deploying new nuclear reactors with passive safety features, built-in grid flexibility, and modular construction. American advanced reactors have the potential to change the global energy landscape drastically.
Fund and Execute on Authorized Programs- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) supports the development and demonstration of advanced reactor technologies through public-private cost-sharing, microreactor user facilities, and regulatory readiness. X-Energy and TerraPower, the two recipients of the full demo awards, are constructing fuel fabrication facilities and progressing toward commercial reactor licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). These projects received substantial direct funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). However, they, and other more early-stage demonstrations, will require consistent annual appropriations to be successful. Other DOE activities that ensure fuel and supply chain readiness, like the Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability Program, must succeed in parallel to fuel the ARDP demonstrations.
Establish a Secure, Domestic Fuel Supply Chain- Creating a secure, domestic supply of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel is essential to a successful advanced reactor industry. Many advanced reactors operate on a different type of fuel than is used by today’s traditional light-water reactors. Unfortunately, commercial enrichment infrastructure for HALEU is severely limited in the U.S. The Energy Act of 2020 established the Advanced Reactor Fuel Availability Program, but the program requires an infusion of funding to kickstart private capital investment. This could improve fuel security and support the widespread deployment of advanced reactors.
Modernize the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)- The NRC licenses and oversees the civilian use of nuclear energy while protecting the health and safety of the public and the environment. Advanced reactor technology must rapidly scale to maintain American energy security, meet emissions targets, and support American industry. However, existing NRC policies and processes will have difficulty to efficiently licensing the next-generation reactors at the required pace. These new reactors have different fuel and safety characteristics that necessitate a performance-based, risk-informed and technology-neutral licensing process. An agile NRC is necessary to rapidly deploy advanced nuclear technologies.
Improve Export Finance Institutions to Compete with State-Backed Alternatives- Globally, since 2000, Russia and China have built a combined 64 reactors; in that same time, U.S. companies have built six. Today, Russia and China are exporting reactors to at least nine other countries such as Turkey, Egypt, and Argentina. Generous, state-backed financing and robust diplomatic support are key to Russian and Chinese dominance of the international nuclear market. U.S. corporations are not competing in a fair international market.
In 2020, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) took an important step towards re-establishing American nuclear leadership by lifting its ban on financing nuclear projects abroad. Maximizing the capabilities of the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) and the DFC is critical to the broader U.S. goals of countering authoritarian governments’ political influence and deploying low-emissions technology internationally.
Streamline the Civilian Nuclear Energy Export Control Processes- The diminishing presence of U.S. leadership in the global nuclear industry energy risks ceding global influence to competitors at a time when demand for nuclear energy is growing. Bureaucracy hamstrings U.S. nuclear exports. The U.S. government divides responsibility for export licensing, nuclear security negotiations, capacity-building assistance, financing, and commercial diplomacy between at least 8 U.S. authorities. These activities are vital to maintaining American security and economic interests but should not be an impediment to development and diplomacy. The government can support American industry by helping to level the playing field for innovative U.S. companies. Exporting not just one reactor, but dozens, will require the White House to create and execute a government-wide export strategy, careful reforms to financing rules at EXIM and DFC, and institutionalizing State Department programs like Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST).
Map of nuclear projects underway in the U.S.
American innovators are developing a variety of new technologies both domestically and internationally.
Nuclear reactors cooled and moderated by water are the most common type of civilian reactor in operation today and have been operating for decades.
Similar to large LWRs, there are several designs that are generally smaller versions and use passive safety features. Like other smaller designs, the intent is to design and modularly construct these reactors — like Lego bricks — proposing cost savings through factory-fabricated and transportable components. The smaller power output from SMRs also makes them useful in remote locations or growing communities.
Sodium Fast Reactors are a relatively well-understood technology with hundreds of years of operating experience. In fast reactors, fission is sustained by higher energy particles, which allows for a higher fuel utilization, resulting in more time between refueling and reduced long-lived waste. Additionally, fast reactors are able to access energy in used nuclear fuel that is not attainable in LWR technologies. This capability could reduce the radioactive lifetime of nuclear waste.
HTGRs already operate commercially in the U.K. and are also being developed in China. HTGRs bring both safety and practical benefits. The moderator and coolant (helium or carbon dioxide) are non-reactive and can operate safely at high temperatures. HTGRs often use TRI-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel in which multiple layers of protection surround BB-sized fuel making core melt physically impossible.
HTGRs are also well suited for industrial applications because they can produce industrial-scale process heat, which is both difficult to electrify and the source of 50% of onsite industrial energy use. Industrial heat accounts for about 9 percent of total U.S. emissions, and successful nuclear industrial decarbonization projects can open up an entirely new market for new nuclear technologies.
MSRs were originally studied in the 1970s but have received renewed interest. MSRs encompass a wide variety of reactors that feature cooling by molten salts that can operate at higher temperatures and lower pressures than other reactor types.
Similar to liquid sodium reactors, MSRs can use several fuel cycles, including consuming less desirable waste products.
Similar to SMRs, microreactors are classified due to their size; however, unlike SMRs, there are a number of coolants used in microreactors. Their small size allows novel manufacturing and deployment strategies. Microreactors are generally 15 MWe or less in size, enough to reliably power a small town, college campus, medical complex, or military base.