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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
G. H. Neilson et al.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | July 2009 | Pages 485-492
Experimental Facilities and Nonelectric Applications | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 1) | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A8950
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) was designed to test a compact, quasi-axisymmetric stellarator configuration. Flexibility and accurate realization of its complex 3D geometry were key requirements affecting the design and construction. While the project was terminated before completing construc-tion, there were significant engineering accomplishments in design, fabrication, and assembly. The design of the stellarator core device was completed. All of the modular coils, toroidal field coils, and vacuum vessel sectors were fabricated. Critical assembly steps were demonstrated. Engineering advances were made in the application of CAD modeling, structural analysis, and accurate fabrication of complex-shaped components and sub-assemblies. The engineering accomplishments of the project are summarized.