The NRC has granted a construction permit for Natrium, Terra Power’s first reactor. A decision that paves the way for the development of fast neutron sodium-cooled technologies. But it also reflects Donald Trump’s executive orders to accelerate decision-making processes.
“This is a historic day for the American nuclear industry,” said Terra Power’s CEO in a statement released on Wednesday, March 4. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the start-up a license for the construction of its Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) cooled with sodium in Wyoming. “This is the first construction permit approved by the NRC in over a decade and the first license for a non-light water reactor in over 40 years,” noted the U.S. regulator in a statement.
Terra Power was the first SMR/AMR developer to apply for a construction permit for a commercial advanced nuclear reactor in the United States in March 2024. The application was officially registered in May 2024, and the initial schedule set by the NRC called for a 27-month review. “In 2025, the review process was expedited due to additions in Terra Power’s file, the company’s responsiveness to regulator requests, NRC staff involvement, Congressional support through the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, and President Donald Trump’s executive orders in favor of nuclear energy,” Terra Power highlighted.
The Impact of Donald Trump
This acceleration of decision-making is a result of the goals set by the Trump administration. In his executive orders, the U.S. president instructed the NRC to now make a final decision within 18 months for new reactor construction and operation requests, and within 12 months for existing reactor license renewal requests. Published in mid-June, the effects of these directives are already visible with a reduction of several months in the decision-making time for the Natrium construction license. “The review period for the first sodium plant construction permit application has been reduced from 27 to 19 months,” Terra Power specified.
Additionally, Natrium is one of two reactor projects supported by the Department of Energy under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). The project benefits from funding to advance “the reactor’s design and licensing, fuel development and qualification, as well as the construction of two support facilities,” as detailed by the DOE.
With a capacity of 345 MW, the Natrium reactor features an energy storage system that can increase the unit’s maximum capacity to 500 MW. Founded by Bill Gates in 2006, Terra Power is collaborating with GE-Hitachi, who serves as a co-technology developer. The next regulatory step for the company is submitting an operating license application, which will be necessary to start the reactor. Terra Power anticipates the reactor to be operational by the year 2030.
