Nuclear Innovation

The United States is home to the largest nuclear energy sector in the world, which produces reliable, emissions-free power at over 50 sites across the country. While the U.S. fleet is one of the best-performing, nearly all American reactors were built decades ago. Today, innovative private companies are designing advanced nuclear technologies that build upon decades of nuclear energy leadership. Developing and deploying these new reactor technologies will support American industry and energy dominance.


Nuclear Power Station at Night

Why is nuclear energy critical?

New nuclear can:

  • Deliver Jobs – Today, the nuclear industry supports 250,000 U.S. jobs.
  • Provides reliable power – Nuclear energy provides 19% of U.S. electricity, and can operate 24/7.
  • Ensures energy dominance – Competitors like Russia and China are dominating the international market. The U.S. must innovate and deploy new technologies to compete.

In May 2025, the Trump Administration released four Executive Orders directing federal agencies to take action to deploy new nuclear energy. These EOs correctly recognize new nuclear as a national security priority and set a bold vision to quadruple nuclear power capacity to 400 GW by 2050.

Scaling up the nuclear industry to meet this goal of energy addition requires targeted support. The table below details key government programs and tax incentives that will enable this critical industry to meet President Trump’s quadrupling goal.

Overview of Recent Key Federal Government Policies to Support Nuclear Energy

Solutions

Keep Demonstration Programs on Track: Public-private partnerships to demonstrate advanced technologies are a critical step for commercialization. Congress and the first Trump Administration signalled strong support for nuclear energy by creating the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The SMR Gen 3+ Program also looks to support a new reactor design, and the Idaho National Lab is seeking to demonstrate multiple microreactors at the National Reactor Innovation Center. These programs must receive the support required to successfully complete the demonstration programs.
Build the Order Book: New nuclear technologies must reach commercially competitive deployment to deliver power affordably. Overcoming early-stage risk is necessary to achieve an order book that can achieve this. Enacting legislation like the ARC Act can provide investors with confidence and protect consumers.
Grow U.S. Nuclear Exports, Trade, and Direct Investment Abroad: Congress can enable U.S. leadership in the global marketplace by reauthorizing the U.S. Development Finance Corporation in 2025 and the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. in 2026. The World Bank recently announced a policy change that enables it to support nuclear energy projects, in line with an all-of-the-above energy approach. Other Multilateral Development Banks must do the same. Legislation such as the International Nuclear Energy Financing Act would create a trust fund for nuclear energy at the World Bank, enabling the Bank to support future nuclear energy projects.
Level Up Regulatory Modernization: Congress has sent a strong message that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should enable the U.S. nuclear energy industry through efficient and predictable regulations. Congress should ensure and oversee the timely implementation of Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act of 2019, Part 53 and the ADVANCE Act.
Invest in the Fuel Cycle: Long-term energy security and global energy dominance also requires building a domestic supply of nuclear fuel. The timely implementation of the Nuclear Fuel Security Act and the HALEU Availability Program is critical to scale many new nuclear technologies. The U.S. must also innovate in storage, recycling and other back-end of the fuel cycle solutions.
Public OpinionLegislationGet Smarter