in effect
Executive Order 14301, signed May 23, 2025, directs the Department of Energy to overhaul its internal process for reviewing, approving, and testing advanced nuclear reactor designs. It treats advanced reactors built and operated under Department control for research purposes as falling under DOE jurisdiction rather than commercial licensing rules, and sets binding deadlines for the agency to act.
The Secretary of Energy must publish guidance within 60 days defining what qualifies as a “qualified test reactor,” and must revise Department regulations and procedures within 90 days to allow qualifying reactors to reach operational status within 2 years of a complete application. A dedicated cross-departmental team must be assigned to each qualifying application to actively assist applicants and remove internal bottlenecks. A separate pilot program requires DOE to approve at least three reactors built outside the National Laboratories, with each reactor targeted to achieve first sustained nuclear reaction (criticality) by July 4, 2026. Environmental reviews under NEPA must also be reformed by June 30, 2025, including potential use of categorical exclusions and streamlined supplemental analyses for reactors on existing sites.
Private companies and research organizations developing advanced reactor designs — including microreactors, small modular reactors, and Generation IV reactors — would face a faster and more actively supported federal approval path for testing at DOE facilities or under DOE contracts. Idaho National Laboratory and other DOE National Laboratories must revise their internal review and approval procedures to meet the new timelines. The Department of Energy itself bears the primary implementation burden, coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the DOGE team embedded at the agency.