President aims to quadruple reactor capacity with domestic uranium and enrichment also in scope of sweeping new orders
US president Donald Trump on 23 May signed four executive orders aimed at speeding up reactor approvals, boosting domestic uranium production and enrichment capacity, and accelerating deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.
Trump directed the government to fast-track construction of nuclear reactors and reform the “risk averse” culture of regulation in a bid to quadruple the US’s atomic energy capacity by 2050.
The orders instructed the Department of Energy (DOE) to facilitate the start of construction for 10 large reactors by 2030 and help finance power upgrades to existing reactors.
The White House said in a statement that "America will usher in a nuclear energy renaissance" following decades of "stagnation and shuttered reactors".
According to the statement, the orders instruct the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to streamline licensing procedures for new reactors, allow for reactor design testing at Department of Energy (DOE) labs, and clear the way for construction of new reactors on federal land.
The NRC will have to reduce approval timelines from several years to 18 months, the DOE is tasked with identifying federal land suitable for new nuclear facilities, and efforts will be made to increase US uranium mining and domestic uranium enrichment capacity.
“The NRC has failed to licence new reactors even as technological advances promise to make nuclear power safer, cheaper, more adaptable and more abundant than ever,” a White House factsheet said.
White House science and technology policy director Michael Kratsios said that the executive orders would kick-start an “American nuclear renaissance”.
“America’s great innovators and entrepreneurs have run into brick walls when it comes to nuclear technology,” he said.
US energy secretary Chris Wright said: “For too long, America’s nuclear energy industry has been stymied by red tape and outdated government policies, but thanks to president Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is finally here.”
Nuclear Is ‘Being Unleashed At Perfect Time’
Wright said nuclear has the potential to be “America’s greatest source of energy addition”, adding that with the emergence of artificial intelligence and Trump’s “pro-American manufacturing policies”, nuclear energy is “being unleashed at the perfect time”.
The chief executives of several nuclear energy companies, including Joseph Dominguez of Constellation Energy, Jacob DeWitte of advanced rector developer Oklo and Scott Nolan of uranium enrichment company General Matter, stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office on Friday during the executive order signing ceremony.
Trump and administration officials have repeatedly emphasised the importance of abundant, inexpensive electricity to power the energy-hungry artificial intelligence industry, helping the US win a global race to dominate the nascent technology.
Weeks after taking office earlier this year, Wright said that the biggest holdup in building new reactor units in the US has been regulatory.
The US has no commercial nuclear plants under construction, with the last two plants to have been brought online being Vogtle-3 and -4 in Georgia, in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Dozens of startups and established nuclear firms have been working towards preparing the development and deployment of small and advanced reactors as the eventual future backbone of nuclear power in the US.
The efforts have also attracted the attention of energy-hungry big tech companies with the likes of Google, Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft, and Meta announcing various agreements with reactor developers since late 2024.
