InvestMacro

U.S. President Donald Trump in May enacted four executive orders designed to accelerate reactor approvals, enhance domestic uranium production and enrichment capabilities, and promote the advancement of innovative nuclear technologies.

Trump urged the federal government to expedite the construction of nuclear reactors and to reform the “risk averse” regulatory environment, with the goal of increasing the country’s nuclear energy capacity fourfold by 2050, reported Kamen Kraev for NucNet on May 26.

The directives call for the Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate the construction of 10 large reactors by 2030 and to assist in financing upgrades for existing facilities.

A statement from the White House proclaimed that “America will usher in a nuclear energy renaissance,” after years of “stagnation and shuttered reactors,” Kraev wrote.

“Across the country, American entrepreneurs and engineers are launching a new generation of nuclear companies featuring innovative reactor designs and scalable manufacturing techniques that can make nuclear safe, efficient, and economic,” said White House Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios in an opinion piece on The White House website. “The Trump Administration will clear their path by dismantling outdated barriers that previous administrations had put up in their way.”

Per the announcement, the orders require the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to simplify licensing processes for new reactors, permit testing of reactor designs at DOE laboratories, and allow new reactor construction on federal lands.

The NRC is expected to shorten approval timelines from multiple years to 18 months, while the DOE will identify federal land that is suitable for new nuclear facilities, and initiatives will be undertaken to bolster U.S. uranium mining and domestic enrichment capacities.

“The NRC has failed to license new reactors even as technological advances promise to make nuclear power safer, cheaper, more adaptable, and more abundant than ever,” a fact sheet from the White House stated, according to Kraev’s report.

Kratsios added in his piece, “America’s great innovators and entrepreneurs have run into brick walls when it comes to nuclear technology.”

The Catalyst: Global Investment Growing

The uranium sector has transitioned into a period of heightened focus as the U.S. seeks to revitalize the domestic atomic energy industry and its related supply infrastructure.

Around the world, the transition to clean energy and decarbonization goals have sparked renewed interest in nuclear power, leading to surging demand.

Several countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom and South Korea, have announced plans to expand nuclear energy capacity by 2050, reported The Astana Times on June 10. Other countries are exploring new builds and/or extending the life span of existing nuclear power plants.

New and high demand is coming from technology sectors needing reliable, carbon-free, around-the-clock power to run their data centers and artificial intelligence systems. Tech giants, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google, continue to invest in nuclear energy to meet this need.

Global investment in nuclear energy has grown 50% each year since 2020, and nuclear capacity is expected to increase 130% by 2050, The Astana Times reported.

Recently introduced governmental initiatives regarding the U.S. uranium sector already have increased domestic momentum and renewed optimism, purported HoldCo Markets in a May 28 research report.

“We anticipate uranium stocks, both large and small, to benefit from changing U.S. nuclear policy,” wrote David Talbot, head of equity research at Red Cloud Securities, in a May 23 Uranium Sector Update.

Using Lasers to Separate Isotopes

LIS Technologies Inc. (LIST), a U.S.-based private company, specializes in proprietary development of an advanced technology to utilize infrared lasers for the selective excitation of molecules, allowing for the separation of desired isotopes from others.

Its Laser Isotope Separation Technology (L.I.S.T) boasts a wide array of applications, distinguishing itself as the only U.S.-origin (and patented) laser uranium enrichment firm, while offering numerous advantages over conventional techniques such as gas diffusion, centrifugation, and previous laser enrichment methods. The proprietary laser-driven process developed by LIST is designed to be more energy-efficient and presents the opportunity for deployment with significantly competitive capital and operational expenses.

L.I.S.T focuses on Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) for existing civilian nuclear facilities, High-Assay LEU (HALEU) aimed at the next generation of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Microreactors, the production of stable isotopes for medical and scientific applications, as well as contributions to quantum computing production for semiconductor technologies, the company said. LIS boasts a top-tier nuclear technical team collaborating with prominent nuclear entrepreneurs and industry experts, fostering strong connections within both governmental and private nuclear sectors.

In 2024, LIS Technologies Inc. was chosen as one of six domestic firms to engage in the LEU Enrichment Acquisition Program, which has a total budget of up to $3.4 billion, with contracts extending up to 10 years. Each recipient is projected to secure a minimum contract of US$2 million.

The company has been folding in talent recently, appointing former Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Brent Park as its executive director of nuclear security and safeguards policy, prominent researcher and engineer Lakasz Urbanski as director of its stable isotope laser program, and leading regulatory expert Julie Olivier as its regulatory affairs and licensing director.

“LIST’s technology arrives at a pivotal moment, as the United States accelerates efforts to build a secure, domestic nuclear‑fuel supply chain,” Park said. “This proprietary technology can be a key step toward reducing reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and strengthening our national energy independence. I’m honored to join the company and look forward to advising the leadership team as they advance the CRISLA technology from revival to commercialization.”

Technology Undergoes Evaluation

Last month, the company announced that a group of independent evaluators conducted a Technology Readiness Level Assessment (TRA) of its CRISLA-3G technology at the LIST facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The CRISLA-3G laser isotope separation technology underwent evaluation and was confirmed to satisfy all criteria necessary for a TRL-4 rating, in accordance with the Department of Energy guidelines specified in DOE G 413.3-4A. This indicates that all essential components were successfully validated in a lab setting, backed by experimental outcomes from the integrated system.

“We are very pleased that the independent Technology Readiness Assessment team scored our TRL at 4, meeting 27 out of 27 criteria,” said Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Christo Liebenberg. “Additionally, the critical technical elements (CTEs) necessary for advancing through TRL-5, TRL-6, and TRL-7 in the upcoming years were also identified. We are confident in our capability to achieve all these CTEs as we pursue our path to commercialization.”

“With our engagement with the TRL assessment team, I feel reassured that our technology is progressing in the right direction,” said Co-Chief Technical Officer Viktor Chikan. “In my opinion, the TRL assessment offers essential transparency for both investors and the technical team to implement the project plan effectively and realize the commercial enrichment facility based on CRISLA technology.”

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc.

One public company on the cutting edge of new nuclear designs is NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NNE:NASDAQ). Earlier this year, the company set up a dedicated demonstration facility in Westchester County, New York, aimed at testing and validating essential non-nuclear elements of its microreactor designs. This facility will underpin the development of four microreactor models — ZEUS, ODIN, LOKI MMR, and KRONOS MMR — all engineered to deliver portable and scalable solutions for clean energy.