ORNL partners with Atomic Canyon to use AI for faster nuclear licensing
"Safety is paramount. If we don't have the safest nuclear, we have nothing," said the Founder of Atomic Canyon.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Atomic Canyon to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can accelerate the licensing process for nuclear power plants.
Currently, it can take a nuclear development company approximately three years to gather the necessary data, engineering solutions, strategy, and plans required for a license application. Then, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may take another three years to evaluate the application’s viability, safety, and compliance.
This timeline does not include the additional time needed to secure funding, hire a workforce, or construct the nuclear facility.
This innovative application of AI comes at an important moment for the nuclear industry. The United States has set ambitious new goals for licensing advanced reactor designs and bringing new nuclear plants online. Meeting these targets will require collaboration between the public and private sectors—particularly with companies pushing the boundaries of both energy and AI.
That’s why the partnership with Atomic Canyon and ORNL could be a game-changer for the nuclear sector.
The agreement was signed during the East Tennessee Economic Council’s (ETEC) Nuclear Opportunities Workshop (NOW), held at the Knoxville Convention Center. Trey Lauderdale, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Atomic Canyon, joined the event in-person from San Luis Obispo, California.
He spoke with teknovation.biz about the importance of winning the nuclear race on a global scale.
“85 percent of new reactors are being built by foreign adversaries, and they don’t play by the same rules. They don’t follow the same safety standards,” Lauderdale said. “We are going to lose the race as a nation if we don’t come together and find solutions to build nuclear faster.”
Lauderdale emphasized that innovation is a defining strength of the United States—and applying AI to the licensing process is a key example of that leadership.
ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer echoed that sentiment and emphasized the Lab’s long-standing commitment to nuclear advancement.
“ORNL was critical to the development of nuclear energy more than 75 years ago, and we are committed to advancing the technologies needed to sustain and grow the nation’s nuclear capacity today,” Streiffer said. “The time is now. With new capabilities enabled by AI and partners like Atomic Canyon, we can help the nuclear industry unleash American energy.”
Using ORNL’s Frontier, the world’s first exascale supercomputer, Atomic Canyon has developed novel AI models tailored for the nuclear sector. These models—called FERMI—power Atomic Canyon’s Neutron AI platform. FERMI enables intelligent search capabilities, allowing users to efficiently navigate vast repositories of technical and regulatory documents.
The NRC’s regulations are purposefully stringent to ensure the safety and reliability of every reactor in the U.S.
“ORNL’s expertise in nuclear science and high-performance computing was critical to building our AI in a reliable, trustworthy way,” Lauderdale said.
When questioned about the safety of AI in the nuclear sector, Lauderdale gave good reason. He shared that he lives about 10 miles downwind from a nuclear reactor.
“Safety is paramount. If we don’t have the safest nuclear, we have nothing,” he said with assurance.
To read more about Day One of the NOW conference, read this teknovation.biz article by Editor, Tom Ballard.
Video courtesy of ORNL Communications.
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