The Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) is the Department of Energy's flagship initiative to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies by providing federal cost-sharing for first-of-a-kind demonstration projects. Announced in 2020 with a total commitment exceeding $4 billion, the ARDP was designed to bridge the gap between successful reactor design and commercial deployment by sharing the financial risk of building first units with private developers. The program operates on the recognition that no private company or utility will bear the full FOAK cost and schedule risk of building an entirely new type of nuclear reactor, and that federal investment is necessary to prove construction feasibility and establish reference cost baselines for subsequent commercial units.
TerraPower and X-energy were selected as the two primary ARDP awardees. TerraPower received up to $2 billion in DOE cost-sharing for its Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor at Kemmerer, Wyoming, against a total estimated project cost of approximately $4 billion. The project received its NRC construction permit in 2025, and construction is actively underway with a target completion of 2030. The Natrium plant will produce 345 MWe of baseload power with 500 MWe peak capability through an integrated molten salt energy storage system. X-energy received up to $1.2 billion for its Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor program, including both the reactor and the TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility. X-energy's NRC construction permit application for four Xe-100 units at Dow's Seadrift, Texas facility was accepted in May 2025, and the TRISO-X TX-1 fuel facility received its NRC Part 70 license in February 2026.
Beyond the two primary awards, the DOE has made additional advanced nuclear investments that complement the ARDP. Holtec International received a $400 million "Tier 1 First Mover Award" for its SMR-300 pioneer program at the Palisades site. The broader federal commitment to new nuclear exceeds $10 billion since 2020, including HALEU enrichment funding ($2.7 billion+), the Constellation/Three Mile Island restart loan ($1 billion), and the Gen III+ SMR program ($800-900 million). The ARDP's impact extends beyond the funded projects themselves: by demonstrating that advanced reactors can be licensed, built, and operated in the United States, the program aims to establish the regulatory, industrial, and workforce foundations for commercial fleet deployment in the 2030s and beyond. The program's success is measured not just by whether the demonstration plants operate, but by whether they catalyze a self-sustaining commercial market.