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Introduction

Recent years have brought a renewed focus on the potential for nuclear energy to help meet the United States’ growing demands for abundant, reliable, low-carbon energy. Advances in nuclear energy technologies, along with the recent completion of Plant Vogtle—the largest nuclear power plant in the United States comprised of four reactor units—are opening new opportunities to build next-generation nuclear reactors, and sparking interest and dialogue among utilities, investors, policymakers, and communities. However, significant barriers to nuclear deployment include technical challenges, regulatory hurdles, and investment risks that complicate decision-making timelines.

To explore pathways for new nuclear development in the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted the workshop Pathways for New Nuclear Development on January 29–30, 2025, in Washington, DC. Building on recommendations from the National Academies’ report Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States,¹ the event facilitated in-depth discussions among policymakers, regulators, community leaders, and technical experts from industry, national laboratories, and academia. Participants examined the challenges of deploying more nuclear power and discussed potential opportunities to overcome some of those challenges, including ways to improve construction, financing, decision

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¹ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), 2023, Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/26630.

making, and public engagement. Attendees shared their experiences and perspectives regarding the real and perceived risks of new nuclear projects and their projected timelines, the risks and opportunities of co-locating nuclear plants with other facilities or in non-traditional locations, and the role different reactor designs could play in meeting growing electricity demand.

To set the stage for the workshop discussions, Richard A. Meserve, Covington & Burling LLP, provided context on the findings and recommendations from Laying the Foundation along with reflections on the ways the nuclear energy landscape has changed since the report’s publication in 2023. Participants then engaged in a series of seven panel discussions focused on technical challenges to deployment, construction timelines, end user timelines and decision making, financing timelines, host community perspectives, workforce development considerations, and the elements of regulatory risk. Over the course of the workshop, participants discussed the readiness of new nuclear designs and of the overall ecosystem to support new deployment at scale, challenges surrounding construction of new plants, and pathways to develop resilient and agile supply chains. They also considered the importance of building up the workforce to support plant operations, considerations around end user needs and expectations, options for sustained financial backing, and how host communities can—and in some cases already do—support advanced nuclear projects through partnerships that drive alignment, address risks, and support shared benefits. Members of the workshop planning committee, who served as moderators for the panel discussions, closed the event with reflections on the key challenges and possible solutions raised during the discussions.

The workshop’s statement of task is provided in Appendix A, the agenda is in Appendix B, and the speaker biographies are found in Appendix C. Recordings and other materials are available at the workshop website.² This proceedings summarizes the workshop presentations and discussions based on transcripts and recordings from the event and does not represent the views of the National Academies.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

Meserve, who chaired the committee that produced the 2023 report Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States,³ opened the workshop with a brief recap of the report’s

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² See https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/44002_01-2025_pathways-for-new-nuclear-development-a-workshop.

³ NASEM, 2023, Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/26630.

findings along with reflections on the current context on nuclear energy in the United States. The report outlined several key issues—including economics, technology, staffing, regulations, societal acceptance, fuel supply, and waste management—that need to be addressed before new nuclear energy development, and small modular reactors in particular, can meaningfully contribute to advancing national security, energy security, and decarbonization goals in the United States. “All of them are critical issues, and all need to be resolved in one way or another for nuclear to contribute in the way that many of us hope it will,” Meserve said.

Since the report’s release, Meserve said that interest in nuclear energy has surged globally. He cited several developments that have driven this renewed interest and spurred progress on some of the issues the workshop planning committee identified. One significant factor has been the rapid increase in electricity demand, driven by the growth in artificial intelligence technologies and data centers. As companies invest in deploying more and more data centers that rely on abundant, reliable electricity, utilities and technology companies are considering how nuclear energy—both from building new reactors and refurbishing decommissioned ones—can help meet their energy demands and decarbonization commitments.

Despite renewed focus and interest, the high costs and high risks of building and operating nuclear reactors, especially with new reactor designs, remain a key challenge. At the moment, there are no commercial orders for building new plants, and the ones that are in progress have been heavily subsidized and have experienced delays and cost overruns. Given the uncertainties inherent in building the first components and plants of a new design, Meserve said that many of those who wish to build nuclear plants are waiting until someone else takes on those high initial costs and risks, after which the costs will naturally come down. “We have a chicken and egg problem here: You need a significant number of orders to drive the costs down in order to have those initial orders actually be made,” he said. To address this issue, he posited that additional federal action will likely be necessary, such as through loan guarantees, cost overrun insurance, or other financial incentives, to encourage more investment, take advantage of lessons learned, and scale new reactor designs. He added that it is unclear what actions or changes may be considered at the federal level under the recent transition to an administration led by President Trump.

Even if the cost barriers can be resolved, there are also important technical and supply chain challenges to new nuclear energy deployment. Multiple vendors are currently testing multiple reactor designs that use multiple types of fuel, most of which are not easy to procure. The most common fuel for advanced reactor designs—high-assay, low-enriched

uranium (HALEU)—comes from Russia and, at the time of the workshop, is not available to the United States;⁴ however, developing a domestic uranium and HALEU supply is challenging and likely to take time. The Department of Energy (DOE) has recognized this problem and is making funds available to kick-start domestic uranium production, including HALEU production. At the same time, Meserve emphasized the importance of investing in developing the United States’ nuclear energy industry if the country wants to retain its influence over international standards for safety, safeguards, and security.

Meserve highlighted some important recent developments in the regulatory arena. Primary among them is the passage of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2024, which requires the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to streamline the process of approving new reactors and fuels while maintaining core safety and security standards.⁵ The NRC has also softened siting restrictions for light water reactors (LWRs), and the law provides some tax incentives to encourage siting new nuclear plants in place of existing coal-fired power plants.⁶ Adaptations of NRC Regulations in Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 50 and 52, have been important in the review of applications for advanced reactors. Meserve said it remains an open question whether Part 53, which focuses on non-LWR designs, will turn out to be needed or helpful.⁷

Another important area of progress has been in public acceptance of nuclear power, which Meserve said has grown considerably in recent years. According to recent polling, more than half of Americans support nuclear power, including the buildout of new nuclear energy plants. Several states have taken steps to end moratoria on nuclear energy development, and some are making concrete moves to encourage new nuclear

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⁴ The Department of Energy recently promised to supply HALEU to five U.S. reactor companies: TRISO-X, Kairos Power, Radiant Industries, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Power (see Nuclear News, 2025, “DOE Commits to Supplying HALEU to Five Advanced Nuclear Companies,” April 10, Nuclear Newswire, American Nuclear Society, https://www.ans.org/news/article-6924/doe-commits-to-supplying-haleu-to-five-advanced-nuclear-companies).

⁵ See U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), “Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Timeliness Initiatives That Support Unleashing American Energy,” https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/governing-laws/advance-act.html, accessed April 14, 2025.

⁶ See NRC, “NRC Regulations Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations,” https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/index.html, accessed April 14, 2025.

⁷ The open comment period for Part 53 opened on October 31, 2024, and ended on February 28, 2025. A draft final rule package is expected by May 2026 (see NRC, “Part 53—Risk Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors,” https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/modernizing/rulemaking/part-53.html, accessed April 14, 2025).

plants that they hope will spur economic development. These same trends are occurring internationally, and Meserve noted that if the United States wishes to remain a leader in this sector, it will need to have marketable reactor technology to export, both to meet economic goals and to avoid other nations embarking on decades-long diplomatic partnerships with competitors such as China and Russia.

While the disposal of spent nuclear fuel remains a challenging problem, Meserve pointed out that it is not seen as an urgent one, as fuel can be stored safely for decades while a permanent solution is developed. However, he did highlight some areas of progress on this front, noting that the American Nuclear Society proposed modernizations to disposal standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may update its disposal site regulations, and DOE is beginning a collaboration-based, community-engaged process to site a consolidated spent-fuel storage facility.