Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base

The order directs the Department of Energy, in coordination with other agencies, to take a broad set of actions to revive the U.S. nuclear industrial base. Within 240 days, the Secretary of Energy must submit a report recommending a national spent-fuel and advanced fuel cycle policy. Within 120 days, the Secretary must develop a plan to expand domestic uranium conversion and enrichment capacity for both civilian and defense needs. The Secretary must also immediately halt the surplus plutonium dilute-and-dispose program — except for South Carolina obligations — and replace it with a program that makes surplus plutonium available to industry as advanced reactor fuel. Within 30 days, the Department of Energy must seek voluntary agreements with domestic nuclear companies under the Defense Production Act to cooperate on LEU and HALEU procurement. The order also directs DOE's Loan Programs Office to prioritize nuclear energy financing and sets a goal of 5 gigawatts of reactor uprates and 10 new large reactors under construction by 2030.

On workforce, the order directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to expand nuclear apprenticeship and career-training programs within 120 days, and directs all federal education grant agencies to treat nuclear engineering as a funding priority. Implementation is subject to available appropriations, OMB oversight, and nonproliferation obligations; the order does not itself fund new programs or change any statute.

Federal agencies including the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Labor, Department of Education, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Also affected are domestic nuclear energy companies, uranium miners and enrichers, fuel fabricators, nuclear engineers and trade apprentices, and military installations assessed for nuclear microgrid support.

U.S. nuclear fuel producers, reactor developers, and workforce training programs gain new federal priority and potential loan, grant, and procurement support. Companies currently running the surplus plutonium dilute-and-dispose program face an immediate program halt. Military bases with power resilience gaps may be considered for nuclear energy hubs.

The order works in concentric rings of action. The fastest-moving pieces are the 30-day Defense Production Act voluntary agreements, which allow DOE to coordinate with private nuclear companies on fuel procurement without antitrust risk, followed by a 90-day uranium policy update and 120-day enrichment capacity plan. A 240-day comprehensive spent-fuel policy report feeds longer-term legislative and regulatory decisions. The Loan Programs Office and education grant agencies operate in parallel. Every new program, obligation, or fund commitment must first be cleared through OMB, constraining how quickly any single directive translates to spending.