Nuclear Power and National Security: Securing America’s Energy and Technological Leadership

Executive Summary

The United States faces unprecedented energy demands driven by AI, high performance computing, electrification, and industrial reshoring. This surge coincides with intensifying great power competition, particularly with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in critical technologies that will significantly impact military and economic superiority. Nuclear power has emerged as a critical solution, offering both energy security and strategic advantages.

This post examines how nuclear energy fundamentally supports national security by ensuring reliable power for critical technology infrastructure and reducing foreign energy dependence. Nuclear capabilities, particularly through SMR development, enhance military applications while advancing American technological leadership in the nuclear sector. Furthermore, nuclear energy serves as a powerful tool for global influence, enabling energy-based diplomacy and countering Russian and PRC nuclear exports and their associated geopolitical leverage in key regions.

Key policy recommendations focus on regulatory modernization, financing solutions, and international cooperation frameworks to accelerate nuclear deployment while protecting American interests.

Introduction

The recognition of economic security as a core pillar of national security represents a pivotal shift in U.S. strategic thinking; a similar transformation in how we view energy security is now essential. As geopolitical competition intensifies and technological advancement accelerates, energy security has evolved into a cornerstone of national security and global influence.

The United States faces unprecedented energy demands driven by AI, computing, advanced manufacturing, and the other critical technology sectors. These demands coincide with an intensifying great power competition with China, where technological, industrial, and economic leadership increasingly depends on reliable, abundant power. Furthermore, leadership in these energy-intensive technologies directly translates into military advantages, from AI-enabled warfare to advanced sensing capabilities and big data analytics. The race to dominate emerging technologies is, at its core, also a race for energy supremacy.

Nuclear power emerges as a critical solution at this intersection of energy security, technological leadership, and strategic competition. While China and Russia aggressively expand their nuclear capabilities and global influence through energy partnerships, America’s historical leadership in nuclear technology has eroded. Reversing this trend is essential not just for domestic energy security, but for maintaining U.S. global leadership, protecting critical supply chains, and ensuring American technological superiority in an increasingly competitive world.

Critical Technology Competition Driving a Power Demand Crisis

Compute power has emerged as a critical strategic asset, particularly in U.S.-PRC competition. While policy discussions have focused on advanced semiconductor technology, high performance computing, and AI capabilities, they’ve largely overlooked energy security’s foundational role in this competition. The global energy transition is reshaping geopolitical power dynamics, with technology manufacturing leadership offering similar advantages to traditional fossil fuel dominance.

The PRC already dominates renewable energy manufacturing, leading in solar panels, wind turbines, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles. Nuclear power represents one of the few clean energy sectors where China hasn’t yet achieved dominance — though this is changing, as the IEA projects China will become the world’s largest nuclear energy producer by 2050.

This competitive landscape intersects with unprecedented domestic power demands. AI infrastructure scaling requires massive data centers, with individual facilities now consuming as much electricity as small cities. The semiconductor industry’s energy requirements are similarly intense, with leading-edge fabs requiring up to 100 megawatts of continuous power. The electrification of transportation and industry further strains the grid, compounding these demands. Electric vehicle adoption and industrial electrification create new demand patterns that challenge existing infrastructure. Regional power shortages have already emerged, particularly in areas with concentrated technology manufacturing or data center presence.

Current grid infrastructure faces mounting vulnerabilities. Many regions lack sufficient transmission capacity for new power demands, while aging distribution systems struggle with reliability. The growing gap between power demand and grid capacity threatens our energy security, economic competitiveness, and national security.

Energy Security and Great Power Competition

The deterioration of U.S. nuclear energy leadership following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 weakened America’s nuclear supply chain and expertise, representing a critical shift in global energy dynamics and geopolitics. The domestic nuclear development stagnated, weakening America’s nuclear supply chain and expertise. This decline accelerated with Westinghouse’s 2017 bankruptcy and compounded with significant cost overruns and schedule delays during the construction of the first two nuclear reactors built in the United States in decades, Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia.

The resulting vacuum has been filled by strategic competitors. New PRC and Russian designs now overshadow those from the US in the global market, accounting for 27 of 31 reactors that began construction between 2017 and mid-2022. This shift carries profound implications for U.S. national security and global influence. Adversaries leverage their nuclear exports for geopolitical advantage, creating long-term dependencies through fuel supply agreements, technical support, maintenance, and waste management services.

Both the PRC and Russia pursue nuclear energy agendas with broader geopolitical objectives in contravention of U.S strategic interests. Through the Belt and Road Initiative and bilateral partnerships, the PRC is establishing itself as the primary nuclear supplier to emerging economies. This influence extends beyond energy into technological standards, security relationships, and economic dependencies. Russia accounts for roughly 44% of the world’s uranium enrichment capacity and supplied approximately 35% of U.S. imports for nuclear fuel until 2024, when bipartisan legislation banned the import of uranium products from Russia, marking a monumental shift for the civil nuclear energy sector.

The stakes of diminished U.S. nuclear leadership are significant. Without a competitive domestic industry, America’s ability to shape global nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation standards weakens. Furthermore, as nations seek to meet growing energy demands while reducing emissions, the absence of American nuclear options cedes critical safety responsibility, as well as diplomatic and commercial opportunities, to strategic rivals.

Nuclear Energy’s Strategic Role

Nuclear power is uniquely suited to address the intersection of energy security and national security requirements. The surge in nuclear project announcements underpinned by major technology leaders (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta) in 2024 demonstrates growing recognition of nuclear’s strategic importance for technological leadership. These “nuclear dominos” reflect a broader understanding that reliable baseload power is essential for critical digital infrastructure, from AI data centers to semiconductor manufacturing.

Nuclear energy provides unmatched grid resilience, outstanding safety record, energy independence, and reliability. Unlike intermittent renewables or fossil fuels, nuclear plants operate continuously with fuel supplies lasting years. Extreme weather events and growing cyber threats have exposed vulnerabilities in America’s aging grid infrastructure, making nuclear energy’s stability and resilience even more crucial. This independence is particularly crucial for powering national security infrastructure and maintaining critical capabilities during crisis or conflict.

In particular, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and microreactors represent a revolutionary capability for military applications and remote operations. Their transportable nature and scalable power output enable forward operating bases, disaster response, and remote installations. Permanently sited SMRs offer secure, independent power for data centers, CONUS facilities, and sensitive communications infrastructure, ensuring continuity of critical national security operations. This role will expand as energy demands from AI processing, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing continue to grow.

Benefits of Advanced Nuclear Technology

Nuclear power, particularly through SMRs, offers distinct advantages for national security and energy independence:

Enhanced Safety: Modern reactors incorporate inherent safety features absent in older designs that experienced accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Their passive safety systems operate without human intervention or external power, while lower operating pressures and simplified designs significantly reduce accident risks. IAEA assessments confirm SMRs’ superior safety profile compared to traditional reactors.

Efficient Fuel Usage and Waste Reduction: Advanced reactors require refueling only every three to seven years, with some designs operating much longer without refueling. Fast-fission technology enables processing of existing spent fuel, potentially providing centuries of operation using only currently stored waste. This aligns with nuclear submarine capabilities, which operate 30–40 years between core replacements.

Strategic Siting: SMRs offer unprecedented flexibility in deployment locations. Their smaller footprint and reduced cooling requirements enable installation near critical infrastructure like data centers, classified facilities, and manufacturing centers. This proximity reduces or eliminates the need to install new transmission capacity, which can take 10–12 years, while providing dedicated, secure power sources for sensitive operations.

Grid Stability: Nuclear plants provide reliable frequency regulation and voltage support essential for grid stability, particularly important as variable renewable energy sources increase. SMRs can better match load variations than traditional large reactors.

Economic Development: Nuclear facilities create long-term, high-skilled jobs and support local economic growth. Each plant typically employs hundreds of workers with above-average wages, while supporting thousands of indirect jobs in the surrounding community.

Efficient and Clean: Beyond zero-carbon electricity, nuclear plants have the smallest land footprint per megawatt of any energy source. Advanced reactors can also support industrial heat applications and hydrogen production, enabling deeper decarbonization across sectors.

Supply Chain Security: Domestic nuclear technology, if properly supported, will strengthen critical supply chains and reduces dependence on foreign suppliers for key components and materials. This includes potential domestic fuel production and processing capabilities.

Barriers to Nuclear Renaissance

Despite growing recognition of nuclear power’s strategic importance for national security and technological leadership, significant obstacles impede America’s nuclear revival. These challenges span regulatory, financial, and infrastructural domains, requiring coordinated policy solutions, accelerated timelines, and sustained investment to overcome.

Regulatory Environment: Current licensing frameworks, designed for traditional reactors, impede SMR deployment. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review process averages is extremely capital and time intensive, so streamlining these processes while maintaining safety standards is essential. The ADVANCE Act of 2024 provides the impetus for reform, but additional measures will likely be needed to accelerate licensing timelines and standardize approval processes for advanced reactors in time to address the challenges facing the U.S. as a nation.

Financial Hurdles: High upfront capital costs and extended construction timelines have historically hindered private investment, and traditional project financing models struggle with nuclear’s long-term payback periods. While operating costs are low, initial investments often exceed $10 billion for traditional reactors.

Infrastructure Constraints: For traditional Gigawatt-scale reactors, grid integration requires significant transmission infrastructure, with new lines taking 10–12 years for approval and construction. Supply chain limitations and workforce gaps further complicate deployment.

Public Perception: Despite nuclear’s outstanding safety record, public concerns persist about accidents and waste storage. Educational initiatives and community engagement are crucial for project acceptance.

Supply Chain Dependencies: Critical component manufacturing and fuel processing remain concentrated overseas, particularly in Russia and East Asia. Rebuilding domestic capabilities will require sustained investment and policy support.

Recommendations

Timely U.S. nuclear deployment will require leveraging national security imperatives to accelerate broader commercial adoption. By establishing pathfinder programs through DOD and intelligence community requirements, we can validate advanced nuclear technologies and create streamlined regulatory pathways that benefit both government and commercial applications. This strategy recognizes that national security applications can serve as proving grounds for innovative nuclear technologies while addressing immediate strategic needs.

Streamlined Regulatory Processes

- Designate national security nuclear projects as regulatory pathfinders

- Fast-track commercial deployment of validated military nuclear technologies

- Reform environmental review process using national security determinations

- Create unified approval process spanning defense and civilian applications

Investment and Reshoring Critical Manufacturing

- Expand federal loan guarantees for nuclear component manufacturing

- Create tax incentives for domestic nuclear supply chain development

- Fund automation research for nuclear manufacturing

- Establish public-private partnerships for critical component production

- Support workforce development programs

Supply Chain Security

- Map critical nuclear component dependencies

- Invest in domestic uranium enrichment capabilities

- Develop automated manufacturing facilities for core components

- Create stockpile of critical nuclear materials

International Framework

- Build international nuclear energy partnerships to counter Russian and PRC influence

- Support partner nations in developing domestic safe, reliable nuclear capabilities independent of Russian and PRC influence

- Establish joint financing mechanisms with democratic partners for emerging market projects

- Coordinate export policies to prevent strategic competitors’ market dominance

- Create shared technology standards with allies to maintain Western leadership

- Develop rapid response capabilities for competing with adversary nuclear offers