News

June 16, 2022 – The development of the Part 53 rule is directed by Congress through 2018’s Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) and forms one important part of the overall regulatory framework for advanced reactors.

January 6, 2022 – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied, without prejudice, Oklo Power, LLC.’s application to build and operate the company’s Aurora compact fast reactor in Idaho. Oklo submitted the application on March 11, 2020, and the NRC then indicated its plan to complete its review of the Aurora design in a two-step process.

November 30, 2021 – ​The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted for review Kairos Power’s construction permit (CP) application for constructing a test reactor at a site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

May 2021 – The NRC staff has published an updated paper to provide information to advanced reactor developers on the benefits of a robust preapplication engagement to optimize application reviews.

February 1, 2021 – Through GAIN, DOE is providing nuclear technology developers through regulatory framework development and licensing support. This support and its outcomes will take a variety of forms and continue to evolve as technologies mature.

October 6, 2020 – The NRC staff issued SECY-20-0093, “Policy and Licensing Considerations Related to Micro-reactors”.

October 2, 2020 – Consistent with Section 103 of NEIMA, the NRC staff has begun efforts to develop a new regulation, through rulemaking, in establishing a “Risk Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors” for optional use by applicants for new commercial advanced nuclear reactor licenses.

June 15, 2020 – The DOE has recently completed its work with industry stakeholders in support of the advanced reactor Licensing Modernization Project (LMP). This project was led by Southern Company (on behalf of industry), coordinated through the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and cost-shared by DOE.

June 12, 2020 – “The NRC staff developed a vision and strategy that was coordinated with industry stakeholders in the 2016-2017 timeframe. Its purpose is to assure that the NRC is ready to review potential applications for non-light water reactor (non-LWR) technologies effectively and efficiently.

June 5, 2020- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted Oklo Power LLC’s combined license application for review. The application seeks approval to build and operate its Aurora reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site in Idaho.