The Nuclear Energy Launch Pad is an initiative of the US Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), announced earlier this year, to promote the rapid development and implementation of advanced nuclear technologies by private industry. It builds on the Reactor Pilot Program and the Fuel Line Pilot Program launched in June and August 2025, respectively, to accelerate advanced nuclear technology deployment using flexible technical and regulatory frameworks on both federal and non-federal lands. The National Reactor Innovation Center is based at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
On 24 August, it was announced that 12 recipients had been selected to participate in the initiative, for projects including reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment and conversion technologies. Eight of the companies selected – Atlas Atomics, Forge Atomics, Hexium, Lightbridge, Nusano, Raven-Flint Nuclear, Scaled Atomics, and Sublime Atomics – are new to the Launch Pad programme, while four – Antares Nuclear, Deployable Energy, Oklo, and Valar Atomics – are reactor developers that have already received support under the initiative and the Reactor Pilot Program and whose projects have achieved zero-power fuelled criticality earlier this summer.
Reactor projects
Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 reactor was the first reactor to go critical by the 4 July deadline set by US President Donald Trump when its Mark-0 sodium heat pipe-cooled, TRISO-fuelled microreactor completed a zero-power fuelled criticality demonstration at INL in June. The company – which is now working on an electricity-producing prototype, and has been selected by the US Air Force to deliver microreactors to Joint Base San Antonio – said its selection “strengthens Antares’ growing footprint in Texas”.
Deployable Energy’s Unity reactor, which was the first selection under the Launch Pad initiative in April this year, reached criticality in early July. The company has been selected for two strategic upcoming demonstrations under the latest round: a full-power demonstration at INL and a Nuclear Energy Launch Pad USA maritime demonstration with Hornbeck Offshore.
“Nuclear-powered maritime operations are exactly the kind of environment where Deployable Energy and Hornbeck Offshore have the potential to create significant value for coastal communities,” Hornbeck Offshore President and CEO Todd Hornbeck said. “This maritime demonstration will allow us to test not only power generation, but also the deployment model, from transportation and integration to operations.”
Valar Atomics’ 100-kWt Ward 250 helium-cooled, TRISO-fuelled, high-temperature gas reactor reached zero-power criticality in June, and the company is now proceeding with a planned power ascension. Oklo’s Groves Isotope Test Reactor reached zero-power fuelled criticality in August.
Other reactor developers on the list that are now receiving Launch Pad support include Atlas Atomics, which is developing “advanced heavy-water reactor technology designed to deliver reliable baseload power, enable domestic production of critical medical and industrial isotopes, and support the recycling and utilisation of spent nuclear fuel”, according to forming part of the state of Utah’s response to a DOE Request for Information earlier this year. Also on the list is Forge Atomics, which is developing a factory-built, 25-MWe pressurised water reactor that will use low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel, and Oak Ridge-based microreactor developer Scaled Atomics, formerly Avant Tech.
Fuel plant plans
Virginia-based advanced nuclear fuel technology company Lightbridge said its selection provides an accelerated pathway towards DOE authorisation for it to design, build, and operate a dedicated facility at INL to manufacture Lead Test Assemblies of its proprietary metallic nuclear fuel for testing in US commercial power reactors, significantly shortening the timeline.
“This is the most important step we have taken toward putting Lightbridge Fuel into commercial reactors, and it changes how investors should understand our timeline,” Lightbridge Chairman and CEO Seth Grae said. “A DOE-authorised facility will let us manufacture full-scale Lightbridge Fuel assemblies that nuclear utilities will run in their plants, and can produce them years sooner than a conventional facility licensing path would allow. We have been working with a major engineering, procurement, and construction firm in preparation for the start of construction of the Special High-assay low-enriched uranium Extrusion Demonstration facility as soon as next year. Our goal is for Lightbridge Fuel to become the standard fuel that produces most of the world’s nuclear energy, and this is where that path begins.”
Privately held nuclear technology company Raven-Flint Nuclear Corporation announced its selection under the Launch Pad alongside the first successful production of uranium hexafluoride using a proprietary conversion process it says is designed to eliminate the need for elemental fluorine gas, as well as docketing by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its licence application to conduct engineering-scale uranium operations at its radiochemistry laboratory.
The company plans to build Torch, a first-of-a-kind, pilot conversion facility on the INL site, which it says will convert 500 tonnes of uranium per year into uranium hexafluoride. It will serve DOE and DOE-affiliated entities, and would be able to produce unobligated, domestic material needed for US defence purposes.
NRIC was established in 2019 to work with industry and the National Laboratories to bridge the gap between concept, demonstration and commercialisation of advanced nuclear technology.
“These selections show a strong and growing interest from developers ready to move their technologies forward,” NRIC Director Brad Tomer said. “Nuclear Energy Launch Pad gives these developers a prioritised pathway to the DOE authorisation process, and access to subject matter experts, facilities, and regulatory support tailored to their needs. We’re helping bridge the gap between concept and commercialisation – and these selections show that pipeline is only getting stronger.”
NRIC will continue accepting Launch Pad applications, with additional selections made on a rolling basis as resources allow.
