Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified before the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Water Development Subcommittee yesterday to discuss how the U.S. Department of Energy would be impacted by the president’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget. The meeting highlighted concerns from lawmakers about the DOE’s spending and efficiency—pointing to the rise in the department’s budget from $61 billion in FY 2021 to $160 billion last year. Read more on Nuclear NewsWire: (fb)

Kairos Power announced yesterday morning that safety-related nuclear construction has begun at the Oak Ridge, Tenn., site where the company is building its Hermes low-power test reactor. Hermes, a scaled demonstration of the company’s fluoride salt–cooled, high-temperature reactor technology, became the first non–light water reactor to receive a construction permit from the NRC in December 2023. The company broke ground at the site in July 2024. Read more on Nuclear NewsWire: (fb)