tech
American nuclear power takes an important step
President Donald Trump has made rebuilding the United States’s nuclear industrial base a central part of his energy agenda. Last week, a nuclear startup operating in Emery County, Utah, took an important step toward making that revival real. Valar Atomics became the first Department of Energy-authorized reactor built outside a national laboratory to reach “criticality.”
TL;DR
- Valar Atomics became the first Department of Energy-authorized reactor built outside a national laboratory to reach "criticality."
- The criticality demonstration signifies a controlled nuclear chain reaction at very low power, a crucial step toward commercial electricity production.
- President Trump's administration has prioritized rebuilding the U.S. nuclear industrial base as a central part of its energy agenda.
- This achievement is part of a larger effort to revive the U.S. nuclear industry, which has fallen behind other countries in nuclear design and capacity.
- Reforms at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Reactor Pilot Program are aimed at accelerating reactor testing and deployment.
- Antares Nuclear's Mark-0 reactor also reached criticality earlier, making two advanced reactor companies achieving this milestone.
- The progress is seen as proof that the U.S. can build advanced technologies when regulatory paths are cleared.