Antares Nuclear Mark-0 Microreactor Achieves Criticality at Idaho National Lab

The initiative is intended to help jump-start the US nuclear sector, which largely stagnated after the 1970s due to shifting public opinion, political pressure, and increasingly stringent regulations that prioritized safety above all else. The result was an approval process so complex and costly that it was almost impossible to navigate without going bankrupt. Launched in 2025, the Reactor Pilot Program seeks to fast-track a new generation of reactors by using the DOE's independent safety authorization and oversight process at federal laboratory sites rather than the standard Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) commercial licensing pathway for early-stage technology validation.

https://newatlas.com/energy/antares-modular-next-gen-us-nuclear-reactor-critical/