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Friday Dive: 7 ADVANCE Act Technologies

What technologies are getting a boost with the passage of the ADVANCE Act?

7 ADVANCE Act Technologies

Which technologies are getting a boost with the passage of the ADVANCE Act and to what extent?

The ADVANCE Act, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by President Biden in July 2024, marks a significant step toward revitalizing the U.S. nuclear sector. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act aims to streamline regulatory processes, reduce costs, and incentivize the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. However, this nearly universal agreement suggests it might be too diluted to enact the transformative changes needed to truly revitalize the industry and meet our growing energy demands.

The ADVANCE Act is the product of over a year of negotiations, reflecting a compromise among various factions concerned with the future of nuclear power development in the United States. This legislation addresses several critical areas. Most notably, it reforms the regulatory process for advanced reactors, simplifying the path for small modular reactor (SMR) companies working on licensing new designs. Additionally, it introduces two lesser-discussed but crucial provisions: updating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) mission and creating a pathway for U.S. nuclear companies to obtain export licenses.

Setting the Stage: A Historical Context

To understand the significance of the ADVANCE Act, we must consider the historical context. Nuclear energy has long been seen as a cornerstone for a clean, reliable energy future. However, decades of regulatory gridlock and public skepticism have stifled its progress. The ADVANCE Act, along with the 2019 Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, represents a bipartisan effort to revive the nuclear sector. Yet, there's a prevailing sense of skepticism about whether these measures are bold enough to make a significant impact.

Nick Loris from C3 Solutions highlights this sentiment in an interesting white paper on the policy: "The ADVANCE Act includes several provisions to improve the market outlook of America’s civilian nuclear industry, but additional, bolder reforms are necessary for nuclear power to flourish. By building on the success of the ADVANCE Act and addressing major outstanding regulatory barriers, Congress can better embolden the nuclear industry to deliver clean, affordable, and reliable power to consumers."

Paige Lambermont, Research Fellow at The Competitive Enterprise Institute, felt similarly skeptical. "The act is far from being a comprehensive solution to the multitudinous problems with nuclear regulation in the US, but it takes important steps toward acknowledging the potential benefits of nuclear technology and allowing the technology to be utilized more both at home and abroad,” wrote Lambermont. “China is building reactors both domestically and internationally at an incredible pace, and the ADVANCE Act removes some of the barriers that are preventing the US from doing the same."

Despite these concerns, the ADVANCE Act does provide a framework that could support key technological advancements in the nuclear sector. Here, we explore seven such technologies, ranked from most impacted to least, examining how each stands to benefit from this new legislation.

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