Advanced Reactor Highlights - All

On March 31, Long Mott Energy, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, submitted a construction permit application for the Long Mott Generating Station (LMGS) which would be sited in Calhoun County, Texas. The LMGS project would be used to demonstrate the X-energy high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology and is supported by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The NRC staff’s acceptance review of the application is ongoing. Learn more.

On February 26, the NRC staff issued a letter to inform US SFR Owner, LLC (USO), a wholly owned subsidiary of TerraPower, LLC, of the completion of the draft safety evaluation (SE) with open items for the Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 construction permit application. Additionally, the letter discussed that the NRC staff is targeting completion of the final SE by June 2026, ahead of the August 2026 date communicated in the original schedule letter.

On February 24, the NRC staff published a new webpage specific to microreactors. The webpage also describes Regulatory Activities that staff is pursuing related to microreactors, including the recently issued Microreactor Integration Plan. Learn more.

On February 3, the NRC staff published a new webpage providing a guide for prospective applicants. The webpage was designed to provide information, guidance, and support for applicants who are currently in the development process of a nuclear reactor design or reactor-related project that have not yet contacted the NRC. The guide discusses the steps necessary for an applicant to take before reaching out to the NRC and provides the appropriate way to contact the NRC to start communications about a project. These pages are also a resource for those who have contacted the NRC and are looking for additional details on specific topics. Learn more.

On September 27, the NRC staff released a draft white paper on "Nth-of-a-Kind Micro-Reactor Licensing and Deployment Considerations", which discusses strategies to enhance regulatory clarity, reliability, and efficiency of licensing nth-of-a-kind micro-reactors (and potentially other technologies), considering rising stakeholder interest in rapid, high-volume deployment. The draft white paper will support planned engagement with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and a separate public meeting with stakeholders in November, which will inform the final development of a related notation vote paper.

On September 16, the NRC issued a construction permit (CP)  and associated safety evaluation (SE) to Abilene Christian University (ACU) for its Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) to be located on its campus in Abilene, Texas. The CP and SE were issued ahead of the September 30, 2024, public milestone and were completed within the published resource estimate. Learn More.

On August 30, the NRC staff issued the final Environmental Assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI)  regarding the construction permit application for the Kairos Power, LLC Hermes 2 test reactor project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The EA determined that the environmental impacts of construction of the Hermes 2 testing facility would be small and would not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Learn More.