U.S. Energy Secretary announces loan program for large nuclear reactors and says SMR progress is 'underway'

Secretary Chris Wright said at the Arc conference that the United States will order long‑lead advanced components for 10 large nuclear reactors and that next‑generation small modular reactors (SMRs) are beginning to come online.

"I just had a press conference an hour ago here announcing a loan program where we're going to order long lead time advanced parts for 10 large‑scale 1.1 gigawatt nuclear reactors to be built by multiple energy companies in the United States," Wright said, describing a financing step intended to accelerate construction of large reactors.

Wright also highlighted rapid progress on smaller, advanced designs. "We've had two of these reactors go critical in the United States. One from a company called Antares and another one from a company called Valore Atomic," he said, adding that the Valore unit is a 5‑megawatt reactor that was transported by air to its operating site. "We expect to have a third reactor critical by July 4th," he said.

Wright framed the moves as part of a broader push to restore U.S. manufacturing and lower energy costs. He said regulatory reforms have reoriented oversight toward safety and away from what he described as excessive bureaucracy, arguing that faster approvals and private capital flow will speed deployment without sacrificing safety.

The secretary said foreign markets were already showing interest in U.S. nuclear technologies and predicted nuclear would become an export industry. He also said long‑term off‑take agreements — contracts to buy power in advance — will help make financing for large reactors viable.

Next steps: Wright said the loan program announcement followed a press conference and ongoing regulatory work; he indicated further deployment milestones are expected in the coming weeks but gave no public timetable for construction starts or commercial operation beyond the near‑term SMR milestones he described.