🎉Trump Orders Nuclear Industry Revival

The U.S. nuclear sector just received its most significant policy intervention in decades.

On May 23, President Trump signed a suite of executive orders to jumpstart America’s nuclear industrial base.

The initiative targets the entire sector—from fuel supply and regulatory overhaul to advanced reactor construction and workforce development.

The administration’s message is clear: nuclear energy is now critical infrastructure.

The orders lay out a full-spectrum plan to rebuild the nuclear industrial base, including:

NRC reform: A complete reorganization of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prioritize speed and deployment. Under the new rules, license decisions must be issued within 18 months.

Reactor buildout: The Department of Energy is instructed to have 10 new large reactors under construction by 2030 and pursue 5 GW of uprates across the existing fleet. The DOE wants concrete poured, cranes moving, and electrons flowing—stat.

Facility restarts: The Department of Energy shall prioritize activities that support nuclear energy, including actions to make available resources for restarting closed nuclear power plants (read Three Mile Island and Palisades), and completing construction of nuclear reactors that was prematurely suspended.

Federal land reactors: The Departments of Energy and Defense can now site reactors on federal property——under independent authority, bypassing NRC oversight.

Fuel cycle reindustrialization: Domestic mining and enrichment (LEU, HEU, HALEU) are now top priority. Trump wants to break U.S. reliance on Russian supply. Mine, enrich, convert, fabricate, and recycle.

Workforce and education: Nuclear engineering and skilled trades are now designated as national workforce priorities, with expanded funding and apprenticeship pathways.

The orders represent a strategic pivot: after decades of regulatory inertia, the federal government is prioritizing nuclear not just for decarbonization—but for energy resilience, supply chain security, and industrial competitiveness.

Advanced reactor developers, uranium miners, and HALEU suppliers all stand to benefit from the acceleration.

While execution will depend on budget allocations and Congressional support, the policy direction is unambiguous. The U.S. is moving to reassert leadership in global nuclear energy—technologically, economically, and strategically.

🧠 TL;DR:

Regulatory speed limits? Lifted. Fuel cycle rust? Scraped off. NRC red tape? Trump wants it shredded. The U.S. is trying to re-industrialize its nuclear backbone in record time—and Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and uranium miners are watching closely.

👇“This is a huge day for the Nuclear Industry“👇

⚛️For the Nu-clearly Curious

📊Global SMR pipeline surges 42% as data centres drive demand
As energy demand grows, the small modular reactor (SMR) pipeline surged 42% since last quarter to reach 47 gigawatts (GW) and would require an investment of around US$360 billion. The US accounts for 53% of the pipeline, almost double the second-largest market, Poland.

🗳️Taiwan Plans Referendum on Nuclear Energy Reversal
Taiwan will hold a national referendum on restarting the nuclear reactor that it shut down just last week, potentially opening up a pathway to reverse the government’s anti-nuclear policy. The Aug. 23 poll will decide whether the Maanshan nuclear power plant should restart operations.

📍Estonia Plans 600 MW Nuclear Power Plant
Estonia has confirmed its plans to build a 600 MW nuclear plant that consists of two of GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 SMRs. They are starting the process of site selection and environmental impact evaluation.

📜Sweden Passes Law to Fund New Generation of Nuclear Reactors
Sweden's parliament passed legislation on Wednesday to finance a new generation of nuclear reactors. The government plans four large-scale reactors - with installed capacity of around 5 GW - or the equivalent in small, modular reactors (SMRs). Half of those should be on-stream by 2035. Sweden was closing reactors only a few years ago.

📈Goldman Sachs Initiates Coverage of Uranium Producer Cameco (CCJ) with Buy Recommendation
Cameco is one of the largest global providers of the fuel needed to energize a clean-air world. Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 60% Upside

🚀Germany Drops Opposition to Nuclear Power

Germany just dropped its decade-long opposition to nuclear power in EU policymaking—and it could reshape the continent’s energy future.

Under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Berlin has signaled it will no longer block French efforts to treat nuclear energy on equal footing with renewables in EU legislation.

That’s a big win for France, and a bigger shift for Germany, where the 2011 phaseout has long been treated as gospel.

That opens the door for:

• State aid for nuclear projects across Europe

• EU-wide hydrogen market access for nuclear-generated supply

• A more unified, less ideological European energy strategy

Only Austria now remains firmly in Europe’s anti-nuclear camp.

The shift is strategic, too: Germany is exploring ways to join France’s nuclear deterrent against Russia and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.

Hydrogen from nuclear is already legal domestically—but now, thanks to this policy U-turn, it will count as clean at the EU level as well.

Bottom line: Germany’s U-turn shatters the EU’s nuclear stalemate and rallies Europe’s industrial core behind atomic energy.

And if Berlin ever gets serious about restarting reactors, they’d be half the cost to operate compared to France’s. That alone could rescue Germany’s energy-starved economy.

🏗️America’s First SMR Is Official

Big milestone for U.S. nuclear energy: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) made history as the first utility to submit a construction permit for a Small Modular Reactor.

The TVA has officially submitted its construction permit application (CPA) to the NRC for a BWRX-300 SMR at its Clinch River site.

This marks a major step for GE Vernova Hitachi’s SMR design, which has been developed in collaboration with TVA, Ontario Power Generation, Synthos Green Energy, and GE Vernova Hitachi.

TVA President Don Moul called it a “significant milestone” that not only advances U.S. nuclear deployment but also creates a path for others to follow.

Site prep for the SMR could begin as soon as 2026.

Earlier this month, Ontario approved construction start of the first of four BWRX-300 units planned at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site.

🎥Want a front-row seat to America’s nuclear revival? Watch this short clip from DOE Secretary Chris Wright’s site visit to Clinch River back in March, where the first BWRX-300 reactors are set to rise.👇

💧The Nuclear Side of Hydrogen

Welcome back to Atomic Alternatives—where we explore unexpected ways nuclear technology shows up in the real world (not just power plants).

This week, we’re talking hydrogen.

Hydrogen is being called the fuel of the future—it can power trucks, factories, even planes. But where does it actually come from?

⚠️ Most hydrogen today isn’t clean. It’s made from natural gas in a carbon-heavy process called steam methane reforming. Cheap? Yes. Green? Not even close.

⚡ That’s where electrolysis comes in: zap water (H₂O) with electricity, split it into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂), and boom—clean hydrogen.

But it all depends on the electricity source. Enter: pink hydrogen 💗—emission-free hydrogen made using nuclear power.

Here’s the color-coded cheat sheet:

• 🟩 Green hydrogen – Electrolysis powered by renewables (wind, solar).

• 💗 Pink hydrogen – Electrolysis powered by nuclear.

• 🟦 Blue hydrogen – Made from natural gas, with carbon capture bolted on.

• ⚫ Gray hydrogen – Natural gas, no carbon capture. Most common today.

• 🟨 Yellow hydrogen – Grid-powered hydrogen (mixed sources).

• 🔶 Turquoise hydrogen – Made via methane pyrolysis, producing solid carbon instead of CO₂.

And unlike wind or solar, nuclear can make hydrogen 24/7. No sun? No problem.

Bonus: High-temperature reactors could unlock even more efficient hydrogen production through thermochemical cycles—basically splitting water using heat instead of just electricity.

🌍 TL;DR: Nuclear isn’t just lighting up cities—it’s cracking water, fueling the hydrogen economy, and giving us a shot at decarbonizing steel, shipping, and aviation.

😂Meme of The Week

Stay charged, stay critical (like a reactor), and keep glowing.😎

– Fredrik
📬[email protected]
🔗 nuclearupdate.com