Pathways for New Nuclear Development Proceedings of a Workshop (2025) / Chapter Skim
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To explore pathways for new nuclear power development in the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted the workshop Pathways for New Nuclear Development on January 29–30, 2025, in Washington, DC. Building on recommendations from the National Academies' report Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States,1 the event facilitated indepth discussions among policymakers, regulators, community leaders, and technical experts from industry, national laboratories, and academia.
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to streamline the process of approving new reactors and fuels while maintaining core safety and security standards.2 In panel discussions, participants examined technical challenges to deployment, construction timelines, end user timelines and decision making, financing timelines, host community perspectives, workforce development considerations, and the elements of regulatory risk.
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FIGURE O-1 A visual summary of key themes and suggestions highlighted in the workshop's closing session. 3 SOURCE: Created by Alison Vellas and visualized by the Ink Factory, inkfactorystudio.com.
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Repeatable manufacturing and construction approaches have the potential to lower the cost of each deployment by taking advantage of economies of scale, establishing reliable supply chains, allowing managers and workers to benefit from experience and lessons learned, and creating proven pathways for navigating community engagement and regulatory approvals. To make this vision possible, multiple panelists underscored the need to down-select from the currently crowded field of candidate technologies and focus on further developing the technology, fuels, construction strategies, and supply chains for a few promising options.
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For example, Chris Nolan, Duke Energy, which operates the country's largest regulated nuclear energy fleet, said that utilities, which typically take on much of the risk associated with nuclear energy builds, need financial incentives along with a reasonable expectation that they will be able to recover the costs they incur, before it makes economic sense to move forward with new nuclear energy projects. One option to overcome these barriers, raised by several participants, is to form stakeholder consortia through which multiple parties could collaborate to secure financing and share the risks and rewards according to the level of investment and risk each party takes on.
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Speakers also pointed to additional opportunities for the government to advance nuclear energy while protecting the public and the environment. Reflecting on the discussion of regulatory considerations that he moderated, Adam Stein, Breakthrough Institute, pointed out that both the NRC and industry have important roles to play in refining processes, incorporating lessons learned, improving communication and collaboration, and creating clear, effective, and flexible regulatory frameworks.
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Several participants emphasized the importance of recognizing a community's history and culture and shared examples of successful approaches developers can use to actively listen to communities to understand their specific concerns, needs, and priorities. For example, Richard Arnold, Consolidated Group of Tribes and Organizations, urged a mindset of doing "science with a conscience" and enabling authentic, inclusive community conversations with those who are affected by new or existing nuclear developments.
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Verma also highlighted the role of universities in advancing research, community engagement, and workforce development across the nuclear ecosystem. In addition to technical skills and expertise, Verma added that the nuclear energy workforce will benefit from people who can effectively collaborate, share expertise, and apply lessons learned to solve problems and build reactors more efficiently.
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