Good news! Bravo President Trump!
"Four nuclear startups participating in Department of Energy reactor-testing programs have brought experimental reactors to criticality, meaning they can sustain controlled nuclear chain reactions.
The department had aimed to reach that milestone with at least three designs by July 4; the companies delivered four. Analysts at the Breakthrough Institute argue that the programs are restoring a crucial stage in the nuclear innovation cycle by allowing companies to build, test, and improve reactor designs before attempting to build costly commercial-scale plants."
"“Last year the Trump administration set a goal to see three new microreactors achieve criticality, a technical milestone establishing that a reactor can sustain a chain reaction, by the nation’s 250th birthday. And just in time, four reactors did so. ..."
"... The Reactor Pilot Program essentially opened a special door for prototype reactors to fast-track development. In August [2025], the US Department of Energy selected 11 reactor projects for the program and offered them land and support from the national labs system. These are all microreactors; the large light-water reactors that dominate the grid today are tens or even hundreds of times their size. ..."
"... Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 reached zero-power criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on June 4th.
Valar Atomics’ Ward 250 followed later that month in Utah, becoming the first DOE-authorized reactor built and operated outside the national laboratory system.
And Deployable Energy, in DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program, reached criticality at INL yesterday, making it the third reactor to meet the July 4 target.
Aalo anticipates reaching criticality this week. ..."
Four nuclear reactors hit a big milestone in the US "Achieving criticality is just the first step toward power for the grid."
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