The Electric Policy Research Institute and Nuclear Energy Institute have issued an update to the Advanced Reactor Roadmap they launched in 2023.

The update comes after a period of steady progress by the nuclear power industry as well as rapidly increasing interest in and support for it.

In their Sept. 9 announcement, EPRI and NEI said the blueprint could help enable buildout of more than 300 GW of advanced nuclear generation capacity in North America. It identifies completed actions, new priorities and evolving industry needs over the past two years.

“When it comes to new nuclear power, the challenge isn’t demand but being able to build fast enough to meet it,” NEI Executive Director of New Nuclear Marc Nichol said in a news release. “The North American nuclear industry is confident in the ability to rise to the challenge and deliver the reliable, affordable and clean energy needed to power the future.”

The updated roadmap breaks the challenge down into three key issues — regulatory efficiency, technology readiness and project execution — and seven enabling factors to deliver value on a timely schedule: first-mover success, fast followers, regulatory efficiency, siting availability/permitting, indigenous/public engagement, supply chain ramp-up and workforce development.

The update is significantly longer and more detailed than the initial version, and it, too, will evolve with future developments and further stakeholder input.

The 2025 update notes that after the initial roadmap was issued in May 2023:

• • Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the first new U.S. advanced reactors, began commercial operation.
  • A host of state and federal policy and regulatory actions have boosted support for nuclear generation.
  • The sector has seen extensive private investment and agreements for offtake from facilities still in the research and planning phases.
  • The first small modular reactor in North America was approved for construction in Ontario.
  • More than 60 other new nuclear projects are being planned in the U.S. and Canada; several have secured regulatory approval; and a handful have begun construction.

Steve Chengelis, EPRI vice president of energy supply, said: “Using the roadmap as a guide, the nuclear industry has made significant strides in areas such as piloting accelerated material qualification projects, advancing workforce training and recruitment, and assessing how construction methods can reduce the risks of new builds.”

The roadmap spells out in detail the expected benefits of widespread deployment of advanced nuclear generation.

It also flags 49 issues posing potential hurdles to advanced nuclear technologies, including:

• • Risk must be reduced and mitigated to give investors and customers the necessary confidence to be first movers.
  • Some of the fuels that advanced reactors are being designed around have yet to be demonstrated commercially, and significant public and private investment is needed to get those fuels to market.
  • Other parts of the supply chain are inadequate, and investment in specialized production to create a supply chain is contingent on certainty of demand.
  • The construction skillsets the nuclear industry will need are in short supply and in high demand.
  • There is a collective lack of institutional knowledge, because so little nuclear construction has occurred in the United States in the past 30 years; because much will change from past practice; and because most prospective owner/operators will be new to the field and may lack necessary skills or experience.

But the roadmap also spells out the steps that need to be taken to address these challenges and identifies the key stakeholders who are or will be addressing the various issues.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has been among the early movers in U.S. planning and development of advanced nuclear technology, and it spoke of the value the roadmap has offered over the past two years.

“The roadmap’s collaborative approach has helped unify diverse stakeholders around a common vision for advanced reactor deployment,” Scott Hunnewell, vice president of TVA’s New Nuclear Program, said in the news release. “As a national leader in advancement of new nuclear technologies, we’re proud to contribute to this effort and look forward to continued progress.”