In February of 2026, NIA released the U.S. Nuclear Energy Project Tracker to help stakeholders understand the status of early mover projects in the United States with respect to five key indicators: (1) site selection and site work, (2) licensing, (3) project teaming, (4) offtake, and (5) funding. The June 2026 update to that tracker is available today. Here are a few highlights:
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Antares achieved zero-power criticality with their Mark-0 reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. This was the first Reactor Pilot Program demonstration unit and is a significant step towards the commercialization of Antares’s reactor technology. The zero-power unit will provide valuable data on the construction and operation to Antares that will directly impact their full-size commercial units.
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The NRC released a finding of no significant impact for environmental impact at X-energy and Dow’s Long Mott Energy project. This is an intermediate, albeit important, step in the construction permit application process but it is notable because the NRC issued this finding ahead of schedule.
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DOE Authorization continues to move quickly, with Last Energy and Deployable Energy both receiving their Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis approval from the DOE for their demonstration units as part of the Reactor Pilot Program and Launchpad Program, respectively.
Check out the tracker for details on each project and stay tuned, as progress is accelerating with respect to all five key indicators.
The NIA U.S. Nuclear Energy Project Tracker can be found at https://nuclearinnovationalliance.org/project_tracker
For more information on the five key indicators that NIA tracks, see our report Progress of Early Mover Nuclear Projects: Key Indicators to Watch