Background
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) named ten companies working on eleven projects for its new Reactor Pilot Program (https://www.energy.gov/ne/us-department-energy-reactor-pilot-program). DOE established the pilot program to implement the goal of Executive Order 14301 to have three reactors achieve criticality by July 4, 2026. DOE Secretary Wright, in his keynote remarks to the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Conference, noted that only one or two reactors might meet that ambitious goal, but that others are close behind. The progress of the ten reactor vendors is summarized by ANS here:
The progress so far: An update on the Reactor Pilot Program -- ANS / Nuclear Newswire
The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 delegates nuclear energy responsibilities to both the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). DOE oversees research, development, and demonstration of nuclear technologies, while NRC regulates commercial nuclear safety and licenses nuclear reactors. As more fully explained in the NIA paper U.S. Federal Oversight of Nuclear Reactors Across NRC, DOE and DoD, a framework has emerged that distinguishes between commercial reactor projects that are licensed by NRC and reactor projects for government or demonstration purposes that can be authorized by DOE.
In 2019, DOE and NRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Nuclear Energy Innovation to collaborate on advanced nuclear energy technologies. The MOU does not affect regulatory authority, but it facilitates information sharing and technical cooperation. This MOU implements the direction in the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 16278) to share technical expertise and knowledge to enable the testing and demonstration of reactor concepts to be proposed and funded, in whole or in part, by the private sector. Specifically, the MOU allows DOE to provide NRC with access to test reactors, modeling tools, and technical data. The MOU reflects the practice that is long-standing but infrequently used to detail NRC employees to the DOE under Inter-Agency Agreements (IAA) to support DOE safety reviews. DOE may also invite NRC to observe and learn, on a not-to-interfere basis, from DOE demonstrations to inform future licensing decisions by the NRC.
DOE-NRC MOU on Advanced Reactor Innovation Addendum No. 9
In October 2025, NRC and DOE signed Addendum No. 9 to this MOU. Under this addendum, DOE proceeds with non-commercial demonstrations and shares information with NRC “to facilitate the NRC’s ability to leverage such information in future licensing reviews.” This Addendum defines the roles, responsibilities, and process for the NRC and DOE to implement four Executive Orders (14299, 14300, 14301, and 14302) issued in May 2025. Under the MOU addendum, DOE and NRC will work together to ensure that “DOE maintains and develops the facilities necessary to enable the timely research, development, demonstration, and commercial application by the civilian nuclear industry of safe and innovative reactor technology.” The agencies will also coordinate to ensure that NRC develops "an expedited pathway to approve advanced reactor designs that have been authorized and tested by DOE . . . that focuses on risks or safety issues identified during the NRC licensing review that may arise from, among other things, design changes in new applications to be licensed by the NRC, rather than revisiting risks that have already been addressed in the DOE review." While some reactor vendors may expect that successful demonstrations of their reactors under DOE programs will allow for commercial sales of electricity to third parties, such sales raise unresolved regulatory questions for the DOE and NRC. The NRC only commits to developing steps to allow the NRC to license future reactors. The MOU envisions a process like that which is being used to construct and operate Pele for the Army.
As specified in the Atomic Energy Act, DOE can retain “for its own account” the commercial application of the initial demonstration reactor. Any compensation for vendors that participate in a DOE program of “testing and operations of advanced nuclear reactors to be proposed and funded by the private sector” will need to be worked out in the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract with DOE. For example, Section 44 of the Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2063) governs the sale of electricity incidental to the operation of test and demonstration reactors, including specifying priority for certain purchasers. Sharing such income with a contractor would be governed by governmental accounting standards, such as the Miscellaneous Receipts Act, 31 U.S.C. 3302.
This MOU addendum continues to authorize the practice of NRC staff being detailed to the DOE to support DOE safety reviews, including completing a safety evaluation called a “Documented Safety Analysis” (DSA) in the DOE safety review standard. As needed, such details will be specified in an IAA between the DOE and NRC, including such items as transfer of funding. As the MOU envisions a significant growth in DOE safety reviews, the MOU implements direction in the four May 2025 Executive Orders for DOE and NRC to work together efficiently “to streamline and expedite future NRC licensing.” For example, the MOU specifies that DOE provides training to the detailed NRC reviewers on DOE safety requirements. Unresolved technical concerns raised by detailed reviewers will be resolved under the DOE’s Idaho Management System Office Procedure 01.OP.13, Resolution of ES&H Technical Concerns, for addressing differing professional opinions rather than the NRC’s differing professional opinion process. Even when properly resolved for the DOE authorization of the initial demonstration reactor, such concerns may be raised again during the NRC licensing process for follow-on reactors.
DOE Update to one of its Primary Safety Review Standards, DOE-STD-1271-2025
In addition to the recent Addendum No. 9 to the MOU, DOE updated one of its primary safety review standards, DOE Standard DOE-STD-1271-2025 (August 2025) Authorization Pathways for Nuclear Facilities. This updated standard used in conjunction with DOE contracting under its OTA to create a “pathway for the authorization by NE of nuclear facilities, including facilities constructed and operated under contract with and for the account of DOE,” ─ NE being the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. This streamlined standard is modelled after the pathway considered by many to have been successfully used to expedite the safety review of the DOD-funded Pele microreactor.
The pathway is structured around stage gates:
• Agreement Phase: Finalize contracts and Nuclear Safety Design Agreement (NSDA).
• Preliminary Design Phase: Complete ~50% design and submit Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA).
• Final Design Phase: Complete full design and submit Final Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) and Technical Safety Requirements (TSR).
• Startup Phase: Conduct readiness review and initiate operations under DOE approval.
The DOE Review Process is specified in the standard in order to comply with the expectations of Executive Order 14301, which creates challenging deadlines for DOE to meet with existing staffing. The streamlined standard states that DOE reviews of the NSDA, PDSA, and DSA are to be completed within 45 days of acceptance. The revised standard limits NSDA comments to safety impacts and allows DOE to use non-DOE experts to supplement its staff. As discussed above with respect to the MOU, detailing NRC reviewers to DOE will augment DOE safety review staff, yet both agencies are currently operating under constrained resources.
Under the OTA contract, the contractor will be identified as the Design Authority. The standard encourages reactor vendors, who are OTA Contractors, as the Design Authority to maintain close coordination and invite DOE reviewers for design reviews. It will be challenging for DOE reviewers to participate in design review meetings while striving to complete required approvals on an aggressive schedule. The NRC-DOE MOU on Advanced Reactor Innovation states that DOE will also strive to schedule such reviews to allow observation by the NRC, increasing the likely staffing burden. Such NRC observers are not detailed to the DOE as safety reviewers; they remain on NRC staff learning for NRC’s own licensing reviews.
The streamlined process of DOE-STD-1271-2025 allows for nuclear facilities that are funded by private entities within DOE authority to start construction at the earliest point permitted by law. In contrast, nuclear fuel (nuclear material over a Hazard Category 3 level), may not be added to the nuclear facility until the end of approval process (the fourth Stage Gate). That last stage includes DOE approval to start the reactor in accordance with a Start Up Plan approved by DOE.
The standard specifies the DOE Orders, Policies, and manuals that must be followed. Except for Emergency Planning and Cybersecurity, the Standard allows the Contractor to use any equivalent NRC regulation/guide or industry standard. A question remains as to how equivalence is determined. Under the standard, the OTA Contractor is ultimately responsible as the Design Authority and may need to explain the equivalence between DOE and NRC standards if such issues arise. By delegating Design Authority to the OTA Contractor, DOE need not resolve such equivalence issues separately. The MOU on advanced reactor innovation and the streamlined DOE safety review standard require DOE and NRC to approve such equivalence evaluation. It seems likely the agencies are pursuing the efficiencies afforded by such coordination to be consistent with statutory authority and direction in recent Executive Orders.
The OTA Contractor may request approval from NE or its delegate to use self-generated standards when approved by NE or its delegate. The equivalence of self-generated standards to NRC guidance is required in NRC licensing regulations and guidance. The NRC will need to address such situations as part of its agreement under Addendum No. 9 of the MOU to develop an expedited pathway for licensing designs approved by DOE. The MOU Addendum No. 9 reflects the commitments of the DOE and NRC to pursue rapid demonstration of advanced reactor projects and expedite commercial licensing of follow-on reactors of the same design.
Click here to view DOE STANDARD: Authorization Pathway for Nuclear Facilities: DOE-STD-1271-2025.pdf
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