Nuclear startups have raised more than $1 billion in the last several months, with data centers’ high electricity demand serving as one key driver.
The Trump administration has quietly revised federal nuclear safety policies overseen by the Department of Energy (DOE) for reactors built on its properties. According to an NPR report, roughly one-third of the DOE nuclear safety rulebook was removed, and several sections were heavily revised.
Requirements that previously limited groundwater and environmental contamination are now treated as suggestions. Workers at DOE-property reactors may be exposed to higher radiation doses under the new rules. Plant security protocols have been largely delegated to the operating company.
The changes were issued without public comment or notice. They apply only to reactors on DOE property; those built elsewhere remain under Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight.
Several startups are developing demonstration reactors on DOE property to meet a Trump-era deadline of July 4, 2026.
