National Security as a Value-Added Proposition for Advanced Nuclear Reactors: A U.S. Focus

In the recent Special Issue of Energies 2023, Professor David Gattie and IP3 CEO Michael Hewitt explore the transition from U.S. leadership in civilian nuclear power to today’s struggle to hold a dominant position in the nuclear enterprise.

Published in the journal’s Special Issue Advanced Nuclear Reactors: Designs, Technologies and Policies for 21st Century Global Challenges, Gattie and Hewitt focus on the underlying policy challenges holding back American nuclear science and technology in the 21st century.

The paper outlines opportunities to overcome today’s challenges in order to leverage advanced nuclear reactors as a domestic technology to meet energy security and reliability objectives under carbon constraints and operationalize national security as a priority objective. Ultimately, their analysis points to how to restore the U.S. as a major global exporter of nuclear technology.

Market challenges overshadowed the national security implications of U.S. nuclear power. As the existing nuclear fleet competed with less expensive technologies, state-owned nuclear enterprises began to take root in international markets. The analysis points to three specific actions to remedy the current state of the U.S. nuclear enterprise. Reflective of Gattie’s sound academic rigor and Hewitt’s vision for IP3 as a commercial entity, the paper describes the value and an approach for a U.S. nuclear industrial base review and recommends creating a demand signal using U.S. military installations. Ultimately, America’s return to a leadership position in the nuclear sector requires a shift away from a sell-side nuclear vendor model. Global exports for future civilian nuclear sector growth require a buy-side model brokered by a third-party integrator that can work with multiple U.S. nuclear partners. To read the full paper, please visit: