U.S. NRC Issues New Rule Allowing Use of Demonstration Data to Accelerate Commercial Licensing

Recently, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) finalized a major new regulatory rule that explicitly allows applicants for commercial nuclear reactors to cite analyses, test data, and operating experience from reactor demonstration projects previously authorized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) or the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) as technical support basis for commercial licensing applications.

It is reported that the rule implements Executive Order 14300 and amends relevant provisions of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50 (adding new Section 50.43(f)) and Part 53. While upholding the NRC's independent safety review, the new rule establishes a streamlined pathway to directly incorporate federal demonstration results into commercial licensing reviews, avoiding duplicative review of safety risks already verified by DOE or DOD, thereby significantly shortening the licensing approval cycle.

Currently, relevant reactor demonstration projects in the United States are accelerating. Among DOE-authorized pilot projects, five facilities have successively achieved criticality, including Antares Nuclear's Mark-0, Valar Atomics' Ward 250, Deployable Energy's Unity, Aalo Atomics' Aalo-X, and Oklo's Groves test reactor; meanwhile, the U.S. Army has also selected five developers through the Janus program to advance microreactor deployment at military bases. The extensive data generated by these demonstration projects will directly serve future commercial licensing applications.

NRC Chairman Ho K. Nieh stated in the agency's announcement that demonstrating how prior authorization results meet high-quality application requirements will help the NRC conduct reviews more efficiently. The rule will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, providing a solid regulatory institutional safeguard for advanced reactors to move from the testing stage to large-scale commercial deployment.