What Happened?

Ever wondered where the power for your next AI chatbot query actually comes from? Congress is turning its focus to advanced nuclear technology as AI data centers compete for power. The U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing titled "Powering the Nuclear Renaissance: Accelerating U.S. Leadership in Advanced Nuclear Reactors" on Sept. 2. ​

More than 9.8 gigawatts of nuclear capacity have been committed to powering AI data centers. China began construction in January on a nuclear project pairing two third-generation pressurized water reactors with a fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Surging demand for electricity from AI data centers is drawing billions of dollars into advanced nuclear technologies.

The Trump administration set a goal of bringing new advanced test reactors to criticality, meaning a sustained nuclear chain reaction, and reached four reactors by July 4. Those four are Antares Nuclear's Mark-0, Valar Atomics' Ward 250, Deployable Energy's Unity, and Aalo Atomics' Aalo-X.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission appointed Jeremy Bowen in March to lead its new Office of Advanced Reactors, which oversees deployment and regulation of these technologies.

Both Sides, Now

Rep. Randy Weber Sr. (R-TX) chairs the Energy Subcommittee. The Trump administration reached its goal of bringing three new advanced test reactors to criticality by July 4, and four reached that point by the deadline. Congress's role is to authorize funding, set regulatory rules, and hold oversight hearings like this one.

Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC) serves as the subcommittee's ranking member, the top Democrat on the panel. Opponents caution that faster deployment may be premature. In November 2023, NuScale and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems ended their planned small modular reactor project in Idaho after projected power costs rose to $89 per megawatt-hour from $58, according to Reuters. A U.S. Government Accountability Office report dated Aug. 20, 2026, found that demand for high-assay low-enriched uranium, a specialized fuel advanced reactors require, remained highly uncertain.

What Happens Next?

The committee has announced five witnesses for the hearing, including the chief executives of Valar Atomics, Aalo Atomics and Antares Nuclear, plus an associate laboratory director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the head of nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University.

For any new nuclear policy to become law, the full House and Senate would both need to pass it and the president would need to sign it. The Energy Subcommittee holds the power to advance legislation to the full House.

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