Unleashing American Nuclear Energy: The Role of U.S. Allies

Continuous bipartisan support for nuclear energy over the past decade has thrust the United States towards the cusp of a civil nuclear resurgence, with recently completed new builds and the impending operational start of our pioneering advanced reactor projects paving the way forward. The administration’s ambitious timelines for deployment and the potential rapid expansion of both the domestic fleet and American nuclear exports will mean that it will be increasingly vital to leverage the unique capabilities of US allies, including in engineering, construction, supply chain, human capital, and financing.

On November 7, the Center for the National Interest recently hosted a half-day conference in partnership with Third Way to explore how the US’s allies can help America to meet its nuclear energy needs. Speakers from varied backgrounds — government, universities, and the private sector — all agreed that the United States is not able to do everything it might like to do to develop its nuclear sector on its own due to limitations in America’s manufacturing and fuel enrichment capacity, supplies of resources like uranium, and the scale and speed required to successfully compete with Russia and China’s state-owned nuclear energy enterprises in international markets.

It is thus essential that it work with its allies in order to achieve this lofty goal. But how can it do this?

Welcoming Remarks:

—Paul Saunders, President, Center for the National Interest

—Alan Ahn, Deputy Director for Nuclear, Climate & Energy Program, Third Way

Panel 1: Cooperation with U.S. Allies in Accelerating New Builds

—Hyun Kang, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

—Miriam D’Onofrio, Senior Director, International Market Development and Policy, X-energy

—Jeff Navin, Co-Founder & Partner, Boundary Stone Partners ; Advisor, TerraPower

—Adrienne Schweer, Head of Government Affairs, Oklo

Moderated by: Kayla Orta, Nonresident Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

Panel 2: Building a Secure and Reliable Allied Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain

—Jennifer Dunn, Senior Manager, Government Affairs, Urenco USA

—Man-Sung Yim, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University

—Jarrett Blanc, Strategic Advisor, Cameco

Moderated by: Rowen Price, Senior Policy Advisor for Nuclear Energy, Climate & Energy Program, Third Way

Panel 3: Perspectives from U.S. Allies

—Bartosz Folusiak, First Counselor, Economic Section, Embassy of the Republic of Poland

—Sungyeol Choi, Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Seoul National University

Moderated by: John Kotek, Senior Vice President, Policy & Public Affairs, Nuclear Energy Institute

Closing Remarks:

—Christel Hiltibran, Director of International Policy, Climate & Energy Program, Third Way