👮 Uranium Just Got National Security Status

The White House just dropped a policy bomb: President Trump has ordered a national security investigation into America’s reliance on imported critical minerals—including uranium, which is explicitly mentioned in the executive order.

The executive order frames uranium not just as a commodity, but as a pillar of national defense. Think: missile guidance systems, advanced optics, radar tech—and yep, nuclear energy. The concern is too much of the supply chain sits in the hands of foreign players with geopolitical leverage.

The U.S. Commerce Department will now investigate whether imports of critical minerals and the products made from them pose a threat to national security.

It’s a big signal: uranium isn’t just about electricity anymore. It’s a strategic asset. And in a world where enrichment capacity is a known bottleneck, moves like this could reshape how uranium is sourced, priced, and prioritized.

TL;DR: Uranium just went from energy policy to national security policy. Expect this to fuel louder calls for domestic mining, processing, and supply chain resilience.

🔗 Read the executive order here: ENSURING NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE THROUGH SECTION 232 ACTIONS ON PROCESSED CRITICAL MINERALS AND DERIVATIVE PRODUCTS

⚛️Cool Links

🏛️Texas State Senate passes bill addressing labor demands in nuclear energy
The Texas state Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to address “urgent skilled labor demands” in the nuclear energy industry. The bill would: "establish an advanced nuclear energy workforce development program for higher education" and "provide a ‘strategic plan’ to address the growing need for labor in the nuclear energy industry"

👨‍🎓CNNC recruitment drive sparks debate
It looks like talent will not be the limiting factor if China wants to massively expand its nuclear energy program: China National Nuclear Corporation, the State-owned nuclear energy giant, announcing that its campus recruitment drive this year attracted nearly 1.2 million applications for 8000 jobs.

⚔️Terrapower Declares War on Rolls-Royce
The company founded by Bill Gates has submitted a bid to build mini-nuclear reactors in Britain, dealing a potential blow to Rolls-Royce’s hopes of dominating the domestic market. TerraPower has written to the UK Government outlining its intention to submit its reactor design for regulatory approval. The design? A 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a gigawatt-scale molten salt energy storage system—aka the Natrium reactor.

🚀India’s Fast-Breeder Reactor Gets 2026 Launch Date

Big milestone for India’s nuclear program: the country’s first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is now on track to go live by September 2026, officials announced this week.

Located in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, the 500 MW reactor uses plutonium-based mixed oxide (MOX) fuel and liquid sodium coolant—a major leap in tech and strategy.

It marks the long-awaited second stage of India’s three-stage nuclear program, focused on recycling spent fuel and reducing radioactive waste.

Here’s why it matters: Fast Breeder Reactors turn spent fuel from existing heavy water reactors into new fuel. That sets the stage for India’s third phase—thorium-based reactors—tapping into one of the world’s largest thorium reserves.

India currently has 8.2 GW of nuclear power online, but that number is set to soar. With over 30 GW in the pipeline across heavy water reactors, light water reactors, SMRs, and next-gen designs like the PFBR, India is building a nuclear arsenal to hit 100 GW by 2047.

This isn’t just capacity—it’s closed fuel cycle strategy in action.

💪U.S Energy Secretary Wright is at it Again

In a new Fox News interview, Energy Secretary Chris Wright delivers the goods:

“Nuclear is one of those energy sources that I think will play a much larger role in the future.”

From Saudi uranium deals to rare earth mining, this one’s packed.
Watch the full clip here:

📝 The EU Wants Your Input on Nuclear

For the first time in 8 years, the European Commission is updating its big-picture nuclear strategy—and it’s asking the public and industry to weigh in.

A new call for evidence just launched, aiming to gather insights on the EU’s nuclear investment needs. Feedback will feed into the updated Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC), due out by the end of 2025.

The objective is to provide a comprehensive, fact-based overview of nuclear energy investments across the EU—aligned with decarbonization targets, REPowerEU, and the Clean Industrial Deal.

The update will map out what’s needed to hit climate and industrial goals, covering everything from new builds and reactor life extensions to waste management, supply chains, and SMR/advanced tech deployment.

Key challenges are:

• Gaps in financing and skilled workforce

• Supply chain vulnerabilities

• Public trust and regulatory capacity

• How to keep Europe competitive in global nuclear

Got thoughts on EU nuclear strategy? Consider this your chance to help shape Europe’s nuclear future. 👉 Submit your feedback here (deadline: May 12)

🚧Atomic Asphalt: Nuclear Tech Hits the Road

Welcome back to Atomic Alternatives—where we shine a spotlight on how nuclear tech shows up in places you'd never expect.

This week’s road-tested subject: nuclear-powered pavement checks.

🛣️Yep—to build better highways, you need nuclear tech!

🔬Meet the nuclear densitometer—a field tool that construction crews use to test the compaction and moisture of soil, asphalt, and concrete.

It uses gamma radiation from a cesium-137 source and, often, neutron radiation from americium-241/beryllium to measure how tightly packed the material is and how much water it contains.

How it works:

• Direct Transmission: A probe goes into the ground, and the machine measures how much radiation doesn’t make it through. Denser material = less radiation gets through.

• Backscatter Mode: The probe stays at the surface, and the gauge counts how much radiation bounces back. Denser = more backscatter.

Compaction = strength. If a roadbed isn’t compact enough, it’ll crack and fail. Too dense? It can’t flex. This tech helps hit that sweet spot—fast, accurately, and without ripping up the pavement.

They're so precise they can even measure the moisture content by tracking hydrogen atoms (thanks, neutrons!).

So next time you’re cruising on a freshly paved highway, know there’s a little nuclear finesse beneath your wheels. 💥

😂Meme of The Week

Stay charged, stay critical (like a reactor), and may your Easter basket be full of glowing surprises. 🐣💥

– Fredrik
📬[email protected]
🔗 nuclearupdate.com