Fact Sheets

# Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Streamlines Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy

The White House
May 23, 2025

STREAMLINING NUCLEAR REACTOR TESTING: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to reform and streamline National Laboratory processes for reactor testing at the Department of Energy.

- The Order finds that the design, construction, and operation of advanced reactors under sufficient Department of Energy (DOE) control are, for the time being, for research purposes, and thus fall within DOE jurisdiction.
- The Order tasks the Secretary of Energy with:
  - Issuing guidance on what counts as a qualified test reactor and taking steps to expeditiously process applications for such reactors.
  - Taking action to revise regulations, guidance, and procedures to significantly expedite the review, approval, and deployment of advanced reactors under DOE jurisdiction in order to enable operational test reactors within two years following a completed application.
  - Creating a pilot program for the construction and operation of at least three reactors outside of the National Laboratories, but under contract with and for the account of DOE, with the goal of achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
  - Eliminating or expediting internal environmental review for authorizations, permits, approvals, and other activities related to reactor testing.

FOSTERING NUCLEAR INNOVATION: President Trump is committed to re-establishing the United States as a global leader in nuclear energy and securing a reliable, diversified, and affordable energy supply to drive American prosperity and technological advancement.

- While the United States led the development of civilian nuclear power through the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Reactor Testing Station (now Idaho National Laboratory), and other Federal entities, the commercial deployment of new nuclear technologies has all but stopped in recent decades.
- Overregulation by the Federal government has stifled the domestic development and deployment of advanced reactors.
- While the United States cultivated the effort to design and build the first Generation IV reactor for commercial use, we have since ceded the initiative to foreign nations in building these advanced reactors.
- Advanced reactors have revolutionary potential, opening a range of new applications to support data centers, microchip manufacturing, petrochemical production, healthcare, desalination, hydrogen production, and other industries.
- By maximizing DOE’s jurisdiction over next-generation nuclear technologies that are still in development, this Executive Order ensures that America’s innovators have clear pathways to create nuclear technologies that will propel economic prosperity and bolster national security.

UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY: President Trump believes in all forms of reliable, dispatchable energy, harnessing nuclear, fossil fuels, and emerging technologies to secure American energy independence and fuel economic growth.

- On Day One, President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency to eliminate bureaucratic barriers, unleash innovation, and restore America’s position as the world’s leading energy producer.

Unleashing American energy will create jobs and economic prosperity, improve the United States’ trade balance, help our country compete with hostile foreign powers, strengthen relations with allies and partners, and support international peace and security.

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