All Things Nuclear with the Expert of All Experts, Brian Smith
Recently, 99% of my conversations with government officials have centered around two things: the explosion of AI-driven computing demand and the global push for carbon-free, reliable power. It’s easy to understand why—everyone is asking how data centers, which require 24/7 uninterrupted power, often at gigawatt scale, can run servers and cooling systems efficiently and sustainably. One answer keeps rising to the surface: nuclear.
To learn more, I reached out to Brian Smith, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors at the Department of Energy and current Director of Nuclear Reactor Development at Idaho National Laboratory. Brian is absolutely a one of one when it comes to this topic. What started as a simple Q+A became not only an education in nuclear energy, but also a powerful reminder that despite the fractured state of our government, there are still extraordinary public servants working for the right reasons.
As Brian put it, “The through-line for my journey has been service to the nation while seeking out challenging roles where I would be surrounded by smart people solving hard problems.” People like Brian remind us that there is still integrity and purpose at the heart of American innovation.
Emily: Brian, you’re so respected in the industry, but many folks (me included) aren’t sure how you carved out such a unique path. Becoming the Director of Nuclear Reactor Development for Idaho National Laboratory isn’t exactly a career most people stumble into. How did you find your way into this field, and what’s kept you here?
Brian: Yes, it’s been an interesting ride, but I’ve not followed a map to get to this place in my career, more of a compass. I left a career on the golf industry in a post-9/11 call to service when I became an officer in the Navy. The Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, or Naval Reactors, looked like the most challenging assignment to get, so I threw my name in and ended up being selected.
During five years of active duty at Naval Reactors, I was surrounded by incredibly smart people doing hard things of critical value to national security, and when the time came to take a new set of active-duty orders, I decided to join the program as a federal civilian, while maintaining my uniformed service in the Navy reserve. After nearly 15 years there in multiple leadership roles, I had another challenging opportunity to join the leadership team at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which houses Naval Reactors, as well as functions that oversee the nation’s nuclear weapon stockpile and secure nuclear materials around the world. Eventually, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee called and asked if I would join their majority professional staff to oversee the Department of Energy’s nuclear activities. When the House Democratic majority flipped in the 2022 mid-terms, I went back to DOE as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, then finished my time at DOE earlier this year acting as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors. I joined Idaho National Laboratory in January 2025.
The through-line for my journey has been service to the nation while seeking out challenging roles where I would be surrounded by smart people solving hard problems.
My dad had a successful 50-year career in golf, and he said one of the keys to his success was always saying yes when asked to do something. He’s in the Florida Golf Hall of Fame and was happy nearly every day he went to work, so it worked out for him. I feel like I’ve done the same thing – never shying away from an opportunity because it looked challenging. Indeed, embracing hard opportunities knowing that my work ethic, intense curiosity, and belief in the power of teams will make those opportunities worth the ride. All the better that the various teams I’ve joined have been doing incredible things for our nation’s national defense and energy security.
Emily: We’re seeing renewed interest in nuclear energy globally; from small modular reactors (SMRs) to repowering old sites. What’s driving this resurgence, and how might it reshape the energy landscape for data centers in the next decade?
Brian: I’d say the renewed interest in nuclear was on a slow boil several years ago, perhaps unnoticed by much of the public who don’t follow the energy industry very closely. Frankly, load growth in the US was relatively flat well into the 2010s, with adoption of energy efficient innovations, combined with strategic off-shoring of energy-intensive industries. During those years, nuclear power was valued as a clean, firm, dispatchable energy source that could help decarbonize the economy, contributing, for example, to the 2015 commitments in the Paris Climate Accords. But we started to note the uptick in load forecasts around 2018, with growing interest in electrification (think electric vehicles) as well as reinvigorating American industry through onshoring. Among other actions policy makers were taking across the energy industry, the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) was intended to accelerate the demonstration and de-risking of several types of advanced nuclear reactor designs via public-private, cost-sharing partnerships between government and industry. The ARDP awards in 2020 set clear goals for first-of-a-kind advanced nuclear deployments through the 2030s. I’d say up to that point, real urgency was still lacking in deploying new reactor concepts, and restarting reactors that had shuttered purely for economic reasons was certainly not part of the conversation. But the real excitement started in November 2022 when OpenAI released the first version of Chat GPT to the public.
As I recall, within merely a month or two, load growth forecasts shot up as virtually every industry dreamed of what could be accomplished using Chat GPT and similar types of tools, while the intense energy demands of those tools fed utilities’ forecasts for ever increasing power demand across the country. In an incredibly short period of time, nuclear energy went from being an elegant tool in a long-term decarbonization movement to being the critical enabler for achieving national AI ambitions.
Those ambitions quickly moved into the national security realm, given how AI can be leveraged throughout the defense sector and into real world military, cyber, and intelligence operations. All that AI excitement rode on an existing but growing undercurrent to take bold steps to bolster the nation’s energy security. So, a large group of diverse stakeholders reached the same conclusion at roughly the same time.
People across the tech, defense, and energy sectors, as well as in government in the Legislative and Executive branches and in both parties, decided that nuclear was not a “nice-to-have” at some point down the road, but a critical part of the nation’s energy strategy to meet massive load growth this decade.
That placed several parts of nuclear on the front burner – as you mention, restarts became low-hanging fruit, given that certain reactors shut down for economic reasons remain in a particular condition that makes it fairly easy to restart them, from both a technical and a regulatory standpoint. We’re also seeing renewed emphasis on uprates, an NRC governed process that uses technical data at a particular plant to determine whether that plant can safely produce more energy. Restarts and uprates are great ways for nuclear technologies to put wins on the board now – getting more electrons on the grid while we accelerate the demonstration and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, including various types of small modular reactors (SMRs). And SMRs come with their own promise of lower deployment and operations costs given their smaller, factory-assembled designs relative to large-scale reactors. SMRs can also be deployed in more locations around the globe given their smaller footprint. So nuclear’s energy density is incredibly useful to utilities and non-traditional off takers alike.
I’d say the interest in nuclear technologies has always existed, but the urgency to deploy is a more recent development driven by widespread AI adoption and renewed interest in energy independence.
Emily: Data centers are under increasing pressure to decarbonize while maintaining 24/7 reliability. What makes nuclear uniquely suited—or not suited—to meet that challenge compared to renewables and grid-scale storage?
Brian: I think I addressed some of that in the previous answer. Today’s fleet of 94 nuclear reactors in the US accounts for almost 20% of the power on the nation’s grid, and a nuclear power plant offers an unsurpassed capacity factor of over 90%. That means that a nuclear plant is operating at full power over 90% of the time, which measures favorably with capacity factors across a range of dispatchable, and certainly non-dispatchable, energy technologies.
As you say, the data center industry as a whole remains committed to being good stewards of environmental resources, and that means finding ways to decarbonize their footprint. Nuclear technologies certainly check the box for a clean, firm, reliable energy source the data center industry needs to meet their sustainability targets. That’s not to take away from other innovative energy solutions under development or being deployed today. Advanced geothermal, renewables with BESS, natural gas with carbon capture and storage… As an American, I applaud any innovation that puts clean, reliable, resilient electrons on the grid and helps us achieve energy security. But I do think that nuclear technologies have a unique place in the conversation.
The nuclear fuel you would need to power your entire life would fit into a soda can. It’s hard to find another energy technology with that kind of opportunity.
Emily: As a policy nerd & Georgia resident who benefits from the added capacity that our nuclear plants supply, I’m really interested in states that are advancing legislation to attract next-generation nuclear projects, while respectful of others who remain a bit cautious.
I’d love your take on the state and local policies paving the way for nuclear-powered data centers — who, if anyone, is getting this right?
Brian: It’s fascinating out there right now. In the 2025 state legislative sessions, we were tracking over 270 pieces of nuclear-related legislation, and a quarter of those bills were passed.
2025 was a high-water mark following 2024’s high water mark. There’s intense interest among states to attract investments in the nuclear sector. To your point, not every one of those bills was to authorize construction of a reactor. But states are showing unprecedented interest in creating study groups, consortia, and economic incentives to establish a favorable environment for adopting advanced nuclear technologies. I hesitate to call out any particular state as a model, as I don’t think there’s one right way to get at it, but starting close to home for the Idaho National Laboratory, I’d say the Idaho state legislature, along with Governor Little, Senators Risch and Crapo, and Representative Simpson (whose district includes INL) have shown an enduring commitment for supporting the unique, cutting edge nuclear research, development, and demonstration activities at the lab, which remains the DOE’s lead laboratory for nuclear energy RD&D.
For a snapshot of state executive and legislative actions this year ---
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul directed the New York Power Authority in June to construct a ≥1 GW zero-emission advanced nuclear plant, supported by a Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development and an estimated $300 million innovation fund.
Massachusetts’ Governor Maura Healey in May introduced Advanced Nuclear and Fusion Energy Roadmaps with UMass Lowell and updated state law to enable next-generation reactors, backed by $10–20 million in research and planning support.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott enacted House Bill 14 (signed June 20, effective Sept 1) establishing the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office and allocating $350 million—with authority to scale to $2 billion—to fund advanced-reactor projects and manufacturing.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in August endorsed lifting the nuclear-construction moratorium to permit small modular reactors, signaling state regulatory readiness for private investment.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore in May signed the Next Generation Energy Act authorizing partnerships with DOE and DOD on reactor siting and cost-sharing.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in February expanded his state’s Nuclear Energy Fund, securing over $90 million including $50 million for TVA’s Clinch River SMR, $10 million for workforce programs, and additional site-development grants.
Washington supported over $100 million in public-private investment for the Amazon-backed X-energy SMR project in Richland with state coordination through Energy Northwest.
Collectively, these actions illustrate how states are transforming nuclear energy from a federal research domain into a core pillar of regional reliability, economic competitiveness, and clean-power growth. The governors and state legislatures in Wyoming, Utah, and Virginia have made overt signals to the nuclear industry that they’re open for business, and not surprisingly, we’re seeing exciting new opportunities for advanced nuclear deployments across these states. But you also raised an important part of this in your question – local policies. I’ve spent my career at the federal policy level, and even as I go around the country and help states navigate these issues, I never forget that it’s local communities that need to have the biggest voice in the conversation.
A lot of communities around this country are interested in talking about how they might leverage advanced nuclear as part of their economic development strategy. We can’t short circuit that conversation by dictating their strategy to them; we must meet them where they are and have the right kinds of conversations, whether about nuclear safety, regulatory oversight, spent fuel management, or economic opportunity. We in the industry need to understand that the views of every community are shaped by their unique experiences, so we need to tailor the conversations accordingly. I’ve seen that approach supported by many of the nuclear bills coming out of state legislatures, and I think they are spot on.
Emily: I think we all felt a pit in our stomach when the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) furloughed 1,400 employees due to the government shutdown. The water cooler discussion suddenly became less about Dancing with the Stars and more about the agency responsible for securing the country’s nuclear weapon stockpile.
You’re uniquely positioned to answer this, but from a geopolitical standpoint, how is the U.S. nuclear industry competing against developments in regions like Europe and Asia, and what does that mean for energy security?
Brian: As someone who made a career in federal service, I do believe the federal government needs to be the employer of choice for bright, motivated individuals who want to influence policy and oversee some of the most complex programs of consequence in the world.
I think there are a number of ways that any employer can, and should, overtly demonstrate their appreciation for and commitment to the workforce. A lapse of appropriations certainly presents headwinds to achieving this, regardless of various stakeholders’ views of how the lapse occurred and how to frame a successful negotiation that ends it.
Despite the current lapse, we in the federal government and national laboratory system must maintain a laser focus on ensuring that U.S. nuclear technology is the default choice for countries around the world. We do that by partnering with like-minded allies, some that have their own rich nuclear legacies, and some that are just embarking on that journey. Certainly, a key component of the US-UK special relationship is nuclear cooperation that we have effectively leveraged in both defense and commercial nuclear technologies for decades. Another good example is the trilateral Australia, UK, US (AUKUS) security partnership, announced in late 2021, which authorizes sharing classified Naval nuclear propulsion information with Australia. Commercial nuclear technology underpins very long-lived assets – nuclear power plants that can operate for a century. That’s why we often refer to an international nuclear partnership agreement as a “hundred-year embrace.”
One country reliant on another country’s nuclear technology will find themselves in that relationship for a very long time, and that can influence myriad other agreements for economic development and military cooperation. The US must maintain its leadership in nuclear technologies and actively look for ways to cultivate our strong relationships with like-minded partners around the world, so that Russia and China don’t become the nuclear partner of choice on the international stage. I recently co-authored an article for a Swiss publication with Dr. Andreas Pautz of the Paul Sherrer Institute that described the many exciting and impactful developments in nuclear demonstrations in the US and how Europe can capitalize on those developments to advance its own interests in energy abundance and energy security. Efforts like this must remain at the forefront of our international engagement strategy.
Emily: Shifting back to digital infrastructure, what role could SMRs play in decentralized or campus-level power generation, especially for hyperscale or edge data centers looking for dedicated, clean energy sources? Do you think we’re still a decade away from this?
Brian: The traditional use case for commercial nuclear energy has been to put power on the grid, but your question raises exactly the right value proposition for advanced nuclear technologies in smaller packages. SMRs and microreactors offer opportunities for siting relative to large scale reactors that open up a range of use cases. One of those is collocated energy generation, which could even be islanded from the grid whether strategically or out of necessity such as in a remote location. Considering the challenges and delays associated with the interconnection process and running transmission lines to accommodate new large loads, it’s not surprising that more data center operators are exploring the “bring your own power” model.
SMRs can offer around 50 to 350MWe (depending on design) and can also be strung together to scale in multiples. So, a campus developer incorporating advanced nuclear in the energy strategy isn’t limited by power, and in fact can bring advanced nuclear power online phased with the overall campus development, rather than waiting for a single large-scale plant to be built. As with any collocated energy generation, it’s not as simple as plugging in a data center to an SMR. Power management and control is key, and INL is doing some fantastic R&D to ensure microgrids that incorporate advanced nuclear have the proper management and control mechanisms to handle the unique load transient’s characteristic of AI. Many of the challenges for powering data centers are shared across the industry, whether hyperscalers, edge, enterprise, colo… Advanced nuclear is an exquisite solution for providing power, so the industry is seizing on that opportunity.
Emily: There’s been a lot of local news lately around potential new nuclear developments in states like Ohio, Virginia, & Tennessee. How should companies that rely heavily on stable power, like data centers, be watching or engaging with these efforts?
Brian: With the shift in the data center industry toward putting powered land first and foremost among siting considerations, those states that are leaning in on new energy generation are the ones to watch.
The nexus with nuclear is particularly significant for data center operators seeking to decarbonize their operations, which generally remains a priority across the industry. So, states that are incentivizing investments in new nuclear deployments are laying the foundation for data center developers to capitalize on opportunities to leverage clean, firm, reliable nuclear power. In terms of state actions, I’d refer to the summary in #4, and use that as a roadmap for where power, and the path to building out powered land, might be more plentiful in the coming years.
Emily: Looking ahead, which policy changes, market signals, or industry developments would accelerate nuclear’s role in the data center energy mix — and what barriers could slow it down?
Brian: The things that could accelerate advanced nuclear deployments might very well be the same things that could stymie this nuclear revolution, depending on how successfully we address several factors. I think we’ll continue to see tax incentives for new nuclear investments and power production, and I see that as an effective use of tax policy. Both the Executive and Legislative branches are all-in on supporting nuclear deployments, and nuclear’s promise as a clean, firm, reliable solution to meeting our skyrocketing power demands and achieving energy security is supported across the political spectrum. I think we need to maintain intense focus on engaging communities around the country to discuss the economic benefits of hosting new nuclear deployments. We need to continue supporting a robust fuel cycle, and increasing our HALEU enrichment capability is a key part of that strategy. Many of the smaller reactor designs leverage HALEU, which is enriched in U-235 to just below the 20% threshold for low-enriched uranium. Centrus is operating a pilot plant to produce small quantities of HALEU in Ohio, but we need a lot more of it to power the smaller reactors of the future. I think the right market signals are being sent to establish a market for HALEU, and industry is making the right moves to build out the capacity, but that will take time and require sustained support at the federal, state, and local levels.
We also need to coordinate a skilled trades development program across the country so that we get the electricians, welders, heavy equipment operators, pipefitters, quality control specialists, and project managers we’ll need to tackle the array of construction projects this country plans to deploy in the coming years and decades. This workforce challenge isn’t unique to the nuclear industry; in fact, the data center industry is acutely aware of this as well. But our industry will be competing within a small pool of talent, and we need to get ahead of the problem before we end up being unable to find enough of these critical workers to build big things across the country. I raise this as a particular concern for the nuclear industry because I think there is a common misperception that the workforce challenge for us lies in nuclear engineering majors in colleges and universities. We’ll continue to need those folks, but they’re not the ones who will move dirt and raise steel.
Finally, the supply chain is both a concern and an opportunity. I don’t think one single entity has its arms wrapped around what the supply chain challenge looks like for substantial increases in nuclear power plant deployments. But I spent years very close to that issue during my time at Naval Reactors, and the nuclear supply chain is not as robust in our country as it will need to be to achieve our ambitions. This means there’s a market gap with substantial returns in the offing, but again, we’ll need to continue sending the right market signals, setting the right economic conditions so that industry fills that gap.
Emily: Lastly, what are your predictions for how nuclear energy will evolve over the next decade and beyond? Is there anything that gives you hope?... (selfishly asking because we all could use a good dose of that right now).
I think all of the above questions are exactly the right types of questions to ask in probing this issue, and I hope the throughline in my answers is one of hope. We have an opportunity to seize on something truly revolutionary, which is one reason why I use that term “nuclear revolution” for what’s happening today.
I don’t do that to be audacious or impudent. This isn’t the nuclear renaissance that has fizzled out in years past.
I think the global race to be the leader in AI has fundamentally changed the way we think about powering our economy, and nuclear technologies are incredibly well-suited to meet the moment. I engage daily with data center operators that are interested in bringing their own power to a deployment campus, and as discussed above, nuclear technologies fit into a range of use cases to power AI, along with other energy-intensive industries that are part of the ongoing reshoring effort in the US. In the near-term, I see exciting things happening at INL to pilot new reactors. We’ll be doing things we’ve never done before in this country. And we’ll set the stage for what comes in the 2030s as we tackle those challenges discussed above to deploy new nuclear technologies at scale.
Energy abundance plays a role in lifting people out of poverty, so these efforts not only contribute to our own energy security and economic development, they can transform lives and entire communities in the US and around the world.