3 Nuclear Weapons Launches Into Great Start. Why It Matters—And Why It Doesn’t

Three basics providing fireworks at the Department of Energy’s Fourth of July celebration of a major nuclear event. They turned on the new reactors as part of the pilot program to push-start what Energy Secretary Chris Wright calls “America’s nuclear renaissance” to build and use the next generation of atomic energy.

Some companies in the pilot program have shown that they can reach the peak-the term used to describe the nuclear weapons that support the chain reaction, a key step in the delivery of energy-shortly July 4, following President Donald Trump’s deadline in the executive order last year. But experts say that while the pilot is good for the industry, there is still a long way to go before the new reactor design becomes a commercial reality.

Adam Stein, director of the Nuclear Energy Innovation program at the Breakthrough Institute, says: “They do a lot for companies that are at risk, but even for those companies, it’s not commercial. It’s experimental.”

For decades, America’s nuclear facilities have been dominated by large, lightweight reactors that use water to transfer heat and maintain nuclear power. The dream of building small reactors with a variety of innovations has long been out of reach, due to the slow pace of regulation and high costs required for small companies to develop new power generation designs.

Stein said: “For a long time companies have been considered to be on the brink of extinction. The pilot program “shows that this is not true, if you are going fast on purpose. It changes the subject, and it also changes the mind. That means a lot to investors.”

A growing number of investors and tech figures in Silicon Valley are seeing small nuclear power plants, which can provide carbon-free power 24/7 to data centers and other services, as part of a new technology revolution. The tech world has said that He leaned forward on the Trump administration to reduce regulations and speed up the development of small nuclear reactors. The administration has responded with a number of measures, including creating a pilot program through the Executive Order last year. In classic Trumpian fashion, the executive order, which was passed in May 2025, set a deadline for finding three difficult rectors, in line with the country. 250th anniversary celebrations on July 4th.

In February, the Department of Energy quietly cut off several environmental and safety regulations for the reactors that work under the department, including those that are being built as part of the experimental program. (Similar cuts are now taking place in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which approves commercial reactors.) Stein says that shortening processes like environmental statements, which can take years, created “long-term savings” for companies in the program.

The design of the reactor in the pilot program will benefit from more than just cutting red tape. Several companies also have support from federally funded national laboratories. Valar Atomics reached its peak at the end of last year On site at Los Alamos National Laboratory using a base with primary fuel and major equipment provided by the lab. (The company also hit a snag with a second addition to a state-funded laboratory in Utah earlier this month.) Antares Nuclear and Deployable Energy—other firsts in the pilot program that have met the administration’s July 4 deadline—also hit hard at the nation’s laboratories.

Matt Loszak, cofounder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, says the government is prioritizing new reactor development because of the speed at which his company has been able to move. His company is part of a pilot program and has not yet reached critical mass, although it hopes to do so soon.