Trump’s Nuclear Revival: Playing Catch Up

President Donald Trump signed four executive orders on May 23rd to enhance America’s nuclear energy production capabilities. U.S. demand for electricity is projected to grow by almost 16% by 2029 after having been nearly flat for over two decades. A combination of factors is driving the need for more power, led by a jump in commercial construction, including data centers for AI-driven computing and manufacturing plants. Nuclear energy can offer a zero-emission source of stable baseload electricity even when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, but as the World Nuclear Association points out, almost all U.S. nuclear generating capacity comes from reactors built between 1967 and 1990. Nuclear sector reform in the US has been overdue since President Jimmy Carter and his successors hit the brakes on development and piled on too many regulations.

Additionally, nuclear fuel and energy generation capacity, as well as the ability to enrich, are key factors for national defense, as stressed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whom Trump invited to give brief remarks after Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and stood to the right of the Resolute Desk at the Oval Office signing ceremony.

Each of the new executive orders tackles an issue to boost nuclear power generation capacity and cut the red tape that has slowed atomic energy development in the USA:

Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base directs federal agencies to review various bottlenecks and seeks to guarantee a safe and efficient fuel cycle by addressing insufficient uranium supply, inadequate enrichment capacity, and the country’s untenable waste storage regime. Measures include cooperation between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to prioritize enabling qualified companies to progress the near-term deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. The order also addresses the lack of skilled workers needed to construct and operate the nuclear infrastructure, prioritizing associated apprenticeships in the trade as well as grants, loans and training programs for nuclear engineering. These actions aim to facilitate “5 gigawatt of power uprates to existing nuclear reactors and have 10 new large reactors with complete designs under construction by 2030.”

Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy orders a review and overhaul of the process DOE uses to certify test reactors, assigning a team consisting of members from relevant agencies reporting directly to the Secretary of Energy that will assist in the application process. It calls for the establishment of a pilot program for reactors to be constructed outside of national laboratories, using a similar approval process and specifically working with “the DOGE Team Lead” on implementation. Additionally, the order calls for streamlining the environmental review process for reactors, noting “The United States cultivated the effort to design and build the first Generation IV reactor for commercial use, but the Federal Government has effectively throttled the domestic deployment of advanced reactors, ceding the initiative to foreign nations in building this critical technology. That changes today.”

Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission opens with an overall critique of NRC performance (“The NRC charges applicants by the hour to process license applications, with prolonged timelines that maximize fees while throttling nuclear power development…A myopic policy of minimizing even trivial risks ignores the reality that substitute forms of energy production also carry risk, such as pollution…”). It directs the NRC to conduct reviews with economic and security benefits in mind, as well as the typical health, safety, and environmental factors, citing 2024’s ADVANCE Act provisions dictating that the licensing process does not unnecessarily inhibit civilian usage and public benefits of nuclear energy. The order also calls upon the NRC to work with its DOGE team to reorganize, reduce its headcount where needed, and redistribute expert employees to expedite the processing of applications and revise regulations and guidance documents, establishing deadlines for approvals, streamlining applications for SMRs, and other related tasks. “Those deadlines shall be enforced by fixed caps on the NRC’s recovery of hourly fees. The deadlines shall include …. A deadline of no more than 18 months for final decision on an application to construct and operate a new reactor of any type… and…a deadline of no more than 1 year for final decision on an application to continue operating an existing reactor of any type…”

Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security focuses nuclear efforts both domestically and abroad for the sake of national security, noting “…mission capability resources at military and national security installations and national laboratories demands reliable, high-density power sources that cannot be disrupted by external threats or grid failures.” Within the United States, it directs the DOE and Department of Defense to ensure that advanced nuclear technology is used to power mission-critical infrastructure and military installations reliably. This includes reserving a bank of 20 metric tons of high-assay, low-enriched uranium to power AI and other infrastructure. Internationally, it calls for increased engagement in the civil nuclear sector and the pursuit and renegotiation of “at least 20 new” 123 agreements, for transfers of nuclear materials, equipment, and knowledge abroad “by the close of the 120^th Congress to enable the United States nuclear industry to access new markets in partner countries.”

Correcting Past Policy Failures, Pursuing New Opportunities

The U.S. still operates the largest civilian nuclear reactor fleet in the world, but it is aging fast. These orders are necessary to allow the U.S. to catch up in the nuclear sector after effectively having abdicated its leadership role for decades. The lack of U.S. involvement opened the gates for Russia, France, Korea, and China to build their own nuclear capacity and leverage their expertise to export nuclear reactors abroad without significant American competition.

Producing and enriching fuel domestically, as well as pursuing further international mining projects and reactor sales, will enable the U.S. to shore up its supplies of uranium, which have barely kept pace with demand, constraining growth and market expansion.

The U.S. will understandably prioritize sites in the homeland, Canada, Mexico, and the rest of the Western hemisphere for uranium mining and enrichment. Companies such as Ur-Energy, EnCore Energy, and Energy Fuels are restarting domestic mines and processing plants that were mothballed during 2005-2013 when the price of uranium fell, and, if the signal from Washington keeps coming in strong and consistently, will likely seek to develop more.

While building a supply chain that America can control is clearly key, the need to move at speed will likely mean that the U.S. also has to “go shopping.” Opportunities exist to secure a share of the fuel supplies that lie in Central Asia, where joint ventures to mine uranium in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are already dominated by Russia, China, France, and Canada.

Similarly, Namibia is a major uranium producer in Africa, where – again, absent U.S. involvement – China is a major player. Some of countries in the continent that are rich in uranium, such as Niger and Gabon, may be delicate or difficult to deal with in the near term as both underwent military coups recently, with Niger turning hostile toward the French and more toward the Russians. However, Morocco is politically stable, and the French have been having a hard time clinging to their long-unchallenged policy of economic dominance in former African colonies, so opportunities may exist there if looked for carefully and persistently.

To secure America’s supply chain, in addition to building up domestic sources, the U.S. should establish itself as a partner in these regions to meet the need for more uranium, as well as several other critical minerals vitally necessary for the emerging high-tech developments. Otherwise, the country cedes them without a fight.

Safety vs. Deregulation

The executive orders also set the stage for streamlining federal licensing and approval processes. While the construction of reactors has been hindered by overregulation by bodies like the NRC, it is crucial that experts remain in charge of safety. Otherwise, America risks another Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Fukushima, which would fuel fears of nuclear power and prompt a clampdown, with overbearing regulation stalling civilian nuclear power development for years, if not decades.

Making the U.S. competitive in the nuclear energy space is vital to national security. As the President is clearly aware, adversaries like China are preparing to surpass the United States in nuclear power capacity, rapidly building reactors while forming a strong base of expertise to improve their nuclear technology.

Playing Catch-Up, Moving Ahead

President Trump’s executive orders are long overdue. Numerous previous administrations of both parties have unjustifiably caved to fear. The American nuclear industry fell victim to strategic myopia and the lack of imagination. Overregulation, the lack of fuel supplies, and an atrophied workforce in the industry all contributed to a lack of capacity and technological advancement. Now, with AI, heightened security needs, and ambitions to grow the American industrial base all demanding more electric power, and with the need for zero-emission generation, the country must unleash its nuclear energy potential to compete on the global stage.