The United States Department of Energy has seen a revival of its nuclear energy market as the nation aims to lead the nuclear power charge that has enveloped the world. The remarkable turnaround in sentiments regarding nuclear energy generation around the global market has opened the door to a significant revival of the international nuclear power sector. Now, the U.S. DoE has signed two new OTAs (Other Transaction Agreements) to accelerate the new surge in nuclear energy projects in the United States.
The U.S. is aiming to lead the surge in new nuclear energy developments across the international market
Since taking office for his second term, Donald Trump has shaken the U.S. energy market to its core. Trump signed several executive orders aimed at increasing the oil and gas production in the U.S., and has actively been approving the nuclear buildout as part of the government’s efforts to increase nuclear energy output in the United States.
The U.S. DOE has now finalized two new Other Transaction Agreements with Terrestrial Energy and Oklo. The new OTAs form part of the U.S. Reactor Pilot Program, which has outlined a target of fast-tracking the deployment of the reactors by July 4 of this year.
The context behind the new nuclear development in the U.S.
In August of 2025, the U.S. DOE formally selected ten companies as part of the Reactor Pilot Program, a new path for nuclear energy developers to leverage the accelerated DOE approval instead of the standard Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process. Initially, the U.S. was targeting to get up to three reactors online within a year, but that target was amended by Energy Secretary Chris Wright at the 2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo.
Other notable selections by the Department as part of the Reactor Pilot Program include:
- Aalo Atomics
- Deep Fission
- Last Energy
- Natura Resources
- Standard Nuclear
Oklo and Terrestrial Energy will boost the U.S. nuclear energy output capacity
Oklo is as unique as it gets within the framework of the Reactor Pilot Program, as it has three distinct nuclear energy projects in the United States, namely the Aurora Powerhouse development, the Pluto reactor, and a third reactor being developed by the company’s subsidiary, Atomic Alchemy.
“This OTA establishes a framework for execution and risk reduction. By building and operating a pilot reactor, we generate the data and experience to streamline future commercial deployments, improve regulatory efficiency, and deliver long-term value.” – Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte
Terrestrial Energy, on the other hand, follows a more conventional OTA process. The company’s Project Tetra has been slowly developing over the past few months and has now been added to the Reactor Pilot Program by the U.S. authority.
“The agreement sits on our development center-path, allowing the company to expedite key elements of its program to prepare licensing applications for commercial plant operation,” – Simon Irish, Terrestrial Energy’s CEO
The remarkable growth that is expected across the U.S. nuclear sector has positioned the U.S. as a major nuclear energy developer, alongside its arch nemesis, China, which has been developing several new nuclear energy projects over the past few years.
The U.S. revival of its nuclear energy sector is picking up momentum in 2026
With the new additions to the Reactor Pilot Program, as well as a new nuclear power development in North Carolina led by Duke Energy, the revival of the U.S. nuclear power sector is gaining momentum in 2026. The need to decarbonize the global energy market has become a top priority for the vast majority of the world, although, to be fair, that is certainly not the reasoning behind the U.S. nuclear revival. Trump is simply aiming to increase the energy output in the United States by whatever means necessary.
