Just over a year ago, President Trump signed four landmark Executive Orders designed to reshape American nuclear policy. While nuclear already sees strong bipartisan support at the federal and state levels, these Orders emphasize what the industry has long called for: enthusiastic government support to bolster the industry by deploying nuclear tech, modernizing our regulatory processes, reinvigorating the industrial base, and streamlining federal nuclear research.
And after just one year, we are already seeing these plans implemented.
Deploying Advanced Reactor Technologies for National Security
The Administration is all in on nuclear for many reasons, from ensuring national security to bringing American technology abroad. When we export our nuclear tech, we set the global standard—and the standard is high. In the past year, we’ve seen several major export agreements take place:
- Japan signed a major trade agreement with the U.S., investing in small modular reactors from GE Vernova Hitachi.
- Poland is partnering with Westinghouse and Bechtel to build its very first reactor.
- The UK has worked with the U.S. to create a framework for bringing advanced nuclear to market.
Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base
In order to meet the increased energy demand created by the rapid expansion of data centers and AI, we’ll need a lot more nuclear generation. And the industry has been hard at work to make that happen:
- NEI facilitated an industry day with the Department of Energy (DOE) focused on recycling and reprocessing used fuel.
- Plans are in motion to restart three previously shuttered plants: Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, Constellation’s Pennsylvania facility as the Crane Clean Energy Center, and NextEra’s Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa.
Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
With the Administration’s ambitious goal to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050, the industry has its work cut out for it: we need to build more reactors, and quickly. The President called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to implement reforms that will streamline regulatory processes so we can get more nuclear on the grid as efficiently as possible. We saw progress on this front thanks to the bipartisan ADVANCE Act, and this Executive Order added an extra push.
Since NEI submitted our recommendations to the NRC in 2025, we’ve seen many exciting developments as the regulator completes reviews more efficiently than ever.
- Kairos’ Hermes demonstration reactor;
- TerraPower’s Natrium Reactor;
- X-energy’s XE-100 reactor;
- and Duke Energy’s license renewal for Robinson Unit 2
all moved through their respective regulatory timelines with unprecedented speed—without sacrificing the high safety levels the nuclear industry is known for.
Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy
The Administration similarly called on DOE to modernize its research processes, prioritizing innovative tech that will help us bring more nuclear to the grid and cement the U.S. as a global leader in nuclear energy. While it’s crucial for regulatory systems to move at an appropriate speed, it’s important for reactor testing processes at our National Labs to do the same.
As we look back on what the Administration and the nuclear industry have accomplished just in the year since these four Executive Orders were signed, it’s clear that nuclear energy will be a major player in powering the future.
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