A global step change in nuclear
Although it has moments of excitement, the nuclear sector has not been known for its rapid pace: the UK government’s SMR competition has been rumbling along for almost two years and may report ‘in a few weeks’; Hinkley Point C began construction in 2017 and may complete Unit 1 by 2031; Vogtle 3 and 4 each took 10 years to build along with the bankruptcy of the reactor manufacturer; and I could go on.
But when we look back on May 2025 we may see it as a watershed in the 21st-century nuclear renaissance, with an unprecedented number of quite significant events taking place to make nuclear development more widespread and faster: no longer simply slick announcements about another ‘Smart Marketing Reactor’, but substantive actions in a number of countries towards new nuclear energy across policy, regulation, construction, fuel supply and investment.
U-turn if u want to
At a geopolitical level, May saw a flurry of countries change their views on nuclear energy as they consider their requirements for future energy supply and security.
Belgium’s federal parliament this month overturned a 2003 policy that banned the construction of new nuclear plants and required the eventual phase-out of Belgium’s four existing reactors. The government will now carry out a consultation to examine the next steps for further nuclear development in Belgium.
Denmark has maintained a statutory ban on building nuclear power plants since 1985. But in a parliamentary vote this month, two-thirds of Danish MPs supported launching an investigation into the possible use of nuclear power to enhance the country’s energy security. The investigation is planned to report during 2026. No doubt Denmark’s two SMR developers, Copenhagen Atomics and Saltfoss, will be pleased, as they currently can’t build a working reactor in their own country. The vote is also serendipitous timing for 92 Capital, a Denmark-based nuclear-specific investment fund which launched in May.
Italy closed its last operating nuclear plants in 1990, following a 1987 referendum prompted by the events at Chernobyl. However, the government, for some time now, has been considering the resumption of nuclear power, and a draft law to allow a nuclear Italian renaissance is in process. This, along with positive polls, in May prompted the first concrete action with a consortium of Italian firms setting up a new government-led entity, Nuclitalia, to examine the country’s requirements and capabilities for new nuclear. Also this month, to show that Smart Marketing remains alive and well, a French/Italian SMR developer, newcleo, took confident advantage of the new mood music to exhibit its sexy Pininfarina-designed lead-cooled reactor, more art than industrial, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
Germany famously declared its nuclear-free Energiewende in 2011 and shuttered its last operating nuclear plants in 2023. Following the election of new Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this year, there had been some expectation of a revision to Germany’s nuclear policy. The first sign of this came this month with a signal from Berlin that it would no longer block EU legislation which treats nuclear power equally with renewables. Whilst this is not an immediate green light for resumption of nuclear power in Germany, it is a significant moment and a huge change in the country’s stance towards nuclear energy.
Taiwan’s last operating plant was closed this month under a 2016 policy to phase out nuclear power. However the parliament has already been busy thinking how to change its mind, and passed motions to have a referendum on nuclear power and to allow 20-year life extensions to existing plants, were they to continue operating.
We should bear in mind that the reasons all these countries implemented their nuclear phase outs were in large part due to concerns around nuclear safety and disposal of radioactive waste, which remain strongly held in many sections of their populations. Any resumption of nuclear by these countries will still have to address these concerns: this may lead to a focus on advanced nuclear technologies which offer enhanced safety; and also lead to a renewed conversation about the disposal, processing and recycling of spent fuel, a topic which has for many years been filed by everybody in the ‘too difficult’ drawer.
Build, baby, build
But all the nervous thinking in Europe about perhaps renewing nuclear energy policy in maybe a few years was eclipsed later in May by the volley of nuclear-related Executive Orders fired out by the White House, upending that ‘too difficult’ drawer and throwing its contents to US Government Departments and industry to solve. The US nuclear sector has now been directed to find 5 GWe of additional nuclear power by 2030, as well as to get 10 large plants under construction, develop urgent funding solutions for advanced nuclear technologies, and to quadruple its nuclear power output to 400 GWe by 2050. This is all to be supported by a dramatic expansion in domestic fuel production for current and advanced reactors, better use of national laboratories, and potential developments in reprocessing and recycling of spent fuel. And there was much more, directing a very significant shake up of the US regulator to cap licensing time and cost, and to move away from the current risk-based regulatory approach. Wow.
This was very arguably the most significant step change in nuclear policy in the last half century; if even a fraction of Mr Trump’s directives come to pass, it will kick start the US nuclear sector into overdrive. On the day of the volley, US nuclear stocks rose by up to 40%.
Even before the White House policy announcements, there was a lot going on in North America to show that SMRs are now clearly breaking out of the virtual world of smart marketing into the real world of muddy cold construction sites. The month of May showed growth in permitted nuclear safety-related construction, a key milestone for a project which indicates that the regulator is allowing commencement of the complex and involved nuclear build process.
Kairos Power became the first advanced reactor vendor to receive a construction permit from the US nuclear regulator in November 2024, for their molten salt-cooled demonstration reactor in Idaho. At the start of May they began nuclear safety-related construction on site, the first SMR vendor in North America to do so, with planned operation ‘towards the end of the decade’. Kairos, of course, is looking forward to providing power for Google’s datacentres after last year’s commitment by the tech company to this SMR design.
GE Hitachi (GEH) gained permission this month from the Province of Ontario and the client utility, Ontario Power Generation, to begin construction of a BWRX-300 SMR at its Darlington site, following the April granting of a construction licence by the Canadian regulator. Spades are already in the ground. This is a significant milestone for what will most likely be the first commercial SMR in North America. If all goes to plan, expect it to be lighting Ontario homes by the end of 2029, with another three units to follow at the site.
In Texas, X-Energy, a developer of a high-temperature gas cooled SMR, and Dow, the chemical company, are working on using their Xe-100 helium-cooled SMR’s 750 deg C heat output to support chemicals production at Dow’s Seadrift site, with four reactors planned. X-Energy is also the SMR of choice for Amazon, which has invested in the design and is represented on X-Energy’s Board. During May the US nuclear regulator accepted the Seadrift project’s construction permit application (CPA) for review, and site characterisation and preparations are underway. This is worthy of note as it highlights the emerging role of SMRs as providers of industrial heat and power.
Buoyed by its success to date in Ontario, GEH is also working with a US utility, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), to develop SMRs at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, TN. This month TVA submitted a CPA to the US nuclear regulator, aiming for spades in the ground by 2028 and commercial operation in 2033. Let’s see if the shake-up of the regulator can speed that up.
Digging has been going on since June last year at Kemmerer, Wyoming, for Terra Power’s first Natrium SMR. The design of this SMR allows more non-nuclear site preparation so, although the US regulator is still reviewing its CPA, which was submitted in March 24, Terra Power is pressing ahead with non-nuclear work, including its secondary system molten salt tanks. But none of this would be of any use without a robust fuel supply. Hence it was very significant that Terra Power this month announced a project with ASP Isotopes, a nuclear fuel and medical isotopes manufacturer, to develop a uranium enrichment facility in South Africa, including agreements to supply TRISO fuel for its Kemmerer plant and longer-term supply for further Natrium reactors.
Further supporting the much-needed growth in nuclear fuel capability, Urenco USA, the only commercial uranium enricher in North America, in May received permission from the US regulator to start up a new enrichment line, expanding its capability by 15%. Perhaps not a huge step on its own, but this, and the other projects above, illustrate the growing confidence in the commercial reality of future nuclear, now about to be given extra rocket fuel by Mr Trump’s Executive Orders.
Come what may
The mere length of this article indicates the amount of activity going on in nuclear and illustrates the momentum for significant growth in nuclear power, with tangible construction activity and a growing pipeline of projects.
Let’s see if this will lead to an eternal summer of nuclear – look out for that SMR arriving at the end of your street, although for now only if you are in the US.
If you would like advice on the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding mobile or floating nuclear platforms including licensing, siting, financing or stakeholder engagement, please get in touch consult the Nuclear Regulatory team at Prospect Law.
John Warden
John Warden brings 35 years of experience in the nuclear and defence sectors to Prospect. He specialises in nuclear reactor project structure and financing, implementation of nuclear technologies, and strategies to meet climate goals using nuclear power. He is increasingly active in the field of advanced nuclear technology, where he advises on the economics and feasibility of deploying small modular reactors and advanced nuclear technology.
Contact John to arrange a call.
