3 articles · Updated · The Presidential Prayer Team · Jul 5
Summary
Unity reached criticality this week at Idaho National Laboratory, completing a zero-power-fueled demonstration that satisfied the deadline in Trump’s 2025 executive order.
The Department of Energy said the milestone made Unity the third reactor under the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative to achieve criticality, after Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 and Valar Atomics’ Ward 250 did so last month.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the result a historic achievement on a timeline many had viewed as unrealistic and said advanced reactors would support industry, energy security and U.S. nuclear leadership.
The success gives the Trump administration a symbolic nuclear win on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary and underscores a faster push to commercialize advanced reactor designs.