U.S. Department of Energy

The federal agency overseeing nuclear weapons, energy research, and—for reactors on its own sites—nuclear safety regulation. - Primary regulator for Reactor Pilot Program

The Department of Energy has quietly rewritten its nuclear safety rules, removing over 750 pages of requirements—including the decades-old ALARA standard that kept radiation exposure 'as low as reasonably achievable.' The changes, shared only with regulated companies and not the public, aim to clear the path for experimental reactors to achieve criticality by July 4, 2026—a timeline nuclear experts call 'a pretty big understatement' in terms of its aggressiveness. In August 2025, Aalo Atomics broke ground on the nation's first experimental reactor under the new rules at Idaho National Laboratory, though DOE Secretary Chris Wright later acknowledged only one or two reactors might meet the July deadline.

Updated Jan 31

The federal agency overseeing nuclear energy policy and the $2.7 billion investment in domestic uranium enrichment. - Leading domestic nuclear fuel supply chain rebuilding

The United States performed less than 1% of global uranium enrichment when the Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion in contracts to three companies on January 21, 2026. Russia controls 44% of global enrichment capacity and supplied roughly a quarter of American reactor fuel until Congress banned imports in 2024. The last U.S.-owned enrichment facility shut down in 2013.

Updated Jan 24