Industry Accomplishment

Army reaches agreement with private industry for nuclear micro-reactors

The Department of the Army is announcing today that the Janus Program has selected five nuclear energy vendors, and five initial locations. In partnership with the Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU), the Army is awarding up to a combined $2.2 billion to own, construct, and operate nuclear microreactors on military installations. These vendors will deliver safe, secure, and reliable nuclear power, strengthening the Army’s ability to project power globally, while supporting the revitalization of American industrial capacity and technological leadership. With the private sector funding expected along with these government dollars, the Army expects more than 20 total nuclear microreactors will be built and operated across Department of War installations.

NRIC selects new Nuclear Energy Launch Pad participants to boost nuclear energy

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) located at Idaho National Laboratory announced 13 new projects were selected to participate in the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative.

US: Radiant sends portable nuclear reactor on a 1,000-mile road trip to prove readiness

Radiant’s 1-MWe Kaleidos microreactor began traveling from El Segundo, California, to Idaho National Laboratory on August 12. The reactor is being transported more than 1,000 miles on a trailer bed. At Idaho National Laboratory, Kaleidos will be installed inside the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments, or DOME, test bed.

Oklo receives U.S. Department of Energy startup authorization for Groves Reactor, clearing way for fuel loading and first criticality

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) startup authorization allows Oklo to load nuclear fuel, conduct startup testing, and proceed toward first criticality. In just over 10 months, Oklo progressed from groundbreaking to receiving DOE startup authorization for its first reactor at the Groves site.

Fourth advanced US reactor achieves criticality at INL, surpassing White House goal

Over the Independence Day weekend, another major nuclear milestone took place in Idaho. Aalo Atomics’ advanced reactor design, the Aalo-X, successfully completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The milestone officially surpasses the goal set by President Trump to have three advanced reactors achieve criticality before the United States’ 250th birthday.

Aalo Atomics achieves criticality on July 4

Executive Order 14301 set an ambitious goal for at least three test reactors to achieve criticality by July 4. Two private companies participating in the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program—Antares and Valar Atomics—reached this stage earlier in June, and Deployable Energy—participating in the DOE's Nuclear Energy Launch Pad—became the third last week. In the last few weeks, reports indicated that Aalo would be next, reaching criticality at Idaho National Laboratory with a low-enriched uranium–fueled, sodium-cooled reactor on or near the target date set forth by President Trump’s EO 14301. In the early hours of July 4, Aalo’s critical test reactor—a full-scale zero-power version of its planned 10-MWe Aalo-X—did just that, becoming the fourth DOE-authorized reactor to hit the milestone.

Deployable Energy achieves criticality at INL ahead of deadline

Deployable Energy’s demonstration microreactor Unity achieved initial criticality at Idaho National Laboratory on June 30 just before midnight. The Department of Energy thus hit its goal of seeing at least three advanced nuclear reactor concepts achieve criticality by the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Department of Energy celebrates fourth criticality ahead of July 4th goal

The U.S. Department of Energy celebrates yet another win for the American nuclear energy renaissance. Early Saturday, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Reactor Pilot Program, Aalo Atomics’ test reactor, Aalo-X, successfully completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration. The experiment took place at Idaho National Laboratory and is the fourth DOE-authorized advanced reactor to achieve the criticality milestone, exceeding the July 4th goal outlined by President Trump in his May 2025 executive order.

U.S. Department of Energy meets President Trump’s goals, delivers third advanced reactor criticality

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative, Deployable Energy’s demonstration reactor, Unity, successfully completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration at Idaho National Laboratory. Unity, which achieved criticality late yesterday, is the third DOE-authorized advanced reactor to go critical by the July 4th deadline set by President Trump in his May 2025 executive order. This criticality marks DOE’s fulfillment of a precedent-setting directive to reignite nuclear energy innovation in the United States.

Radiant receives first TRISO fuel shipment at INL’s DOME facility, clearing path to full-power, full-temperature testing

Radiant, a leading developer of advanced nuclear technologies, received its first tranche of nuclear fuel at the National Reactor Innovation Center’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The tri-structural ISOtropic (TRISO)-fuel was fabricated by Standard Nuclear in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to Radiant's specifications earlier this year. It will be used to power Radiant’s Kaleidos reactor to conduct a full-power, full-temperature test this summer – kicking-off months of rigorous testing and validation, to support manufacturing and customer delivery by 2028.