[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 9 (Thursday, January 14, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3727-3731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01013]



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Vol. 86

Thursday,

No. 9

January 14, 2021

Part VII





The President





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Executive Order 13972--Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National 
Defense and Space Exploration
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 9 / Thursday, January 14, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Executive Order 13972 of January 5, 2021

                
Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National 
                Defense and Space Exploration

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. Nuclear energy is critical to 
                United States national security. That is why I have 
                taken a series of actions to promote its development 
                and facilitate its use. On June 29, 2017, I announced 
                an initiative to revive and expand the nuclear energy 
                sector and directed a complete review of United States 
                nuclear energy policy to help find new ways to 
                revitalize this crucial energy resource. On July 12, 
                2019, I signed a Presidential Memorandum entitled ``The 
                Effect of Uranium Imports on the National Security and 
                Establishment of the United States Nuclear Fuel Working 
                Group,'' with the goal of examining the current state 
                of domestic nuclear fuel production and reinvigorating 
                the nuclear fuel supply chain, consistent with United 
                States national security and nonproliferation goals. On 
                August 20, 2019, I signed National Security 
                Presidential Memorandum-20, entitled ``Launch of 
                Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems,'' calling 
                for development and use of space nuclear systems to 
                enable or enhance space exploration and operational 
                capabilities.

                The purpose of this order is to take an important 
                additional step to revitalize the United States nuclear 
                energy sector, reinvigorate America's space exploration 
                program, and develop diverse energy options for 
                national defense needs. Under this action, the United 
                States Government will coordinate its nuclear 
                activities to apply the benefits of nuclear energy most 
                effectively toward American technology supremacy, 
                including the use of small modular reactors for 
                national defense and space exploration. This work is 
                critical to advancing my Administration's priorities 
                for the United States to lead in research, technology, 
                invention, innovation, and advanced technology 
                development; its mission to promote and protect the 
                United States national security innovation base; its 
                drive to secure energy dominance; and its commitment to 
                achieving all of these goals in a manner consistent 
                with the highest nuclear nonproliferation standards.

                The United States was the first nation to invent and 
                develop the technology to harness nuclear energy. Since 
                the 1950s, the United States Navy has been operating 
                and advancing transportable nuclear reactors, resulting 
                in powerfully enhanced marine propulsion for its 
                aircraft carriers and allowing nuclear-powered 
                submarines to remain submerged for extended periods of 
                time.

                The United States must sustain its ability to meet the 
                energy requirements for its national defense and space 
                exploration initiatives. The ability to use small 
                modular reactors will help maintain and advance United 
                States dominance and strategic leadership across the 
                space and terrestrial domains.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                to promote advanced reactor technologies, including 
                small modular reactors, to support defense installation 
                energy flexibility and energy security, and for use in 
                space exploration, guided by the following principles:

                    (a) A healthy and robust nuclear energy industry is 
                critical to the national security, energy security, and 
                economic prosperity of the United States;

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                    (b) The United States should maintain technology 
                supremacy for nuclear research and development, 
                manufacturing proficiency, and security and safety; and
                    (c) The United States Government should bolster 
                national defense and space exploration capabilities and 
                enable private-sector innovation of advanced reactor 
                technologies.
                    Sec. 3. Demonstration of Commercial Reactors to 
                Enhance Energy Flexibility at a Defense Installation. 
                (a) Micro-reactors have the potential to enhance energy 
                flexibility and energy security at domestic military 
                installations in remote locations. Accordingly, the 
                Secretary of Defense shall, within 180 days of the date 
                of this order, establish and implement a plan to 
                demonstrate the energy flexibility capability and cost 
                effectiveness of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-
                licensed micro-reactor at a domestic military 
                installation.
                    (b) If the demonstration is successful, the 
                Secretary of Defense shall identify opportunities at 
                domestic military installations where this capability 
                could enhance or supplement the fulfillment of 
                installation energy requirements. In identifying these 
                opportunities, the Secretary of Defense shall take into 
                account considerations that are unique to national 
                defense needs and requirements that may not be relevant 
                in the private sector, such as:

(i) the ability to provide resilient, independent energy delivery to 
installations in the event that connections to an electrical grid are 
compromised;

(ii) the ability to operate for an extended period of time without 
refueling;

(iii) system resistance to disruption from an electro-magnetic pulse event; 
and

(iv) system cybersecurity requirements.

                Sec. 4. Defense Capabilities. (a) The Department of 
                Defense is one of the largest consumers of energy in 
                the world, using more than 10 million gallons of fuel 
                per day and 30,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity per 
                year, nearly all of which is provided through civilian 
                electrical grids. Fuel demands for a modern United 
                States military have dramatically grown since World War 
                II and are anticipated to continue to increase in order 
                to support high-energy-usage military systems. In this 
                context, nuclear power could significantly enhance 
                national defense power capabilities.

                    (b) The Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, 
                the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the 
                National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA 
                Administrator):

(i) determine whether advanced nuclear reactors can be made to benefit 
Department of Defense future space power needs;

(ii) pilot a transportable micro-reactor prototype;

(iii) direct an analysis of alternatives for personnel, regulatory, and 
technical requirements to inform future decisions with respect to nuclear 
power usage; and

(iv) direct an analysis of United States military uses for space nuclear 
power and propulsion technologies and an analysis of foreign adversaries' 
space power and propulsion programs.

                Sec. 5. Space Exploration. (a) Nuclear power sources 
                that use uranium fuel or plutonium heat sources are 
                essential to deep space exploration and in areas where 
                solar power is not practical. NASA uses radioisotope 
                power systems, such as radioisotope thermoelectric 
                generators and radioisotope heater units, to provide 
                power and heat for deep space robotic missions. Nuclear 
                power sources in the kilowatt range may be needed for 
                demonstrating In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and 
                robotic exploration of permanently shadowed craters on 
                the Moon that contain frozen water. Nuclear reactors up 
                to 100 kilowatts may be needed to support human 
                habitats, ISRU, other facilities, and rovers on both 
                the Moon and Mars. Power sources in the

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                megawatt range would be necessary for efficient, long-
                duration deep space propulsion. Affordable, lightweight 
                nuclear power sources in space would enable new 
                opportunities for scientific discovery. The sustainable 
                exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other locations will 
                be enhanced if small modular reactors can be deployed 
                and operated remotely from Earth.

                    (b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                NASA Administrator, in consultation with heads of other 
                executive departments and agencies (agencies), as 
                appropriate, shall define requirements for NASA 
                utilization of nuclear energy systems for human and 
                robotic exploration missions through 2040 and analyze 
                the costs and benefits of such requirements. In 
                defining these requirements, the NASA Administrator 
                shall take into account considerations unique to the 
                utilization of nuclear energy systems in space, such 
                as:

(i) transportability of a reactor prior to and after deployment;

(ii) thermal management in a reduced- or zero-gravity environment in a 
vacuum or near-vacuum;

(iii) fluid transfer within reactor systems in a reduced or zero-gravity 
environment;

(iv) reactor size and mass that can be launched from Earth and assembled in 
space;

(v) cooling of nuclear reactors in space;

(vi) electric power requirements;

(vii) space safety rating to enable operations as part of human space 
exploration missions;

(viii) period of time for which a reactor can operate without refueling; 
and

(ix) conditioning of reactor components for use in the space environment.

                Sec. 6. Domestic Fuel Supply. (a) A thriving and secure 
                domestic nuclear fuel supply chain is critical to the 
                national interests of the United States. A viable 
                domestic nuclear fuel supply chain not only supports 
                defense and national security activities, but also 
                enables the success of the commercial nuclear industry. 
                Many advanced reactor concepts, however, will require 
                high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), for which no 
                domestic commercial enrichment capability currently 
                exists. The United States must take steps to ensure a 
                viable United States-origin HALEU supply.

                    (b) The Secretary of Energy shall complete the 
                Department of Energy's ongoing 3-year, $115 million 
                demonstration of a United States-origin enrichment 
                technology capable of producing HALEU for use in 
                defense-related advanced reactor applications. Within 
                funding available for the demonstration project, the 
                Secretary of Energy should develop a plan to promote 
                successful transition of this technology to the private 
                sector for commercial adoption.
                    (c) The Secretary of Energy shall consult with the 
                Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, and the NASA Administrator 
                regarding how advanced fuels and related technologies 
                can best support implementation of sections 3, 4, and 5 
                of this order.

                Sec. 7. Common Technology Roadmap. (a) The Secretary of 
                State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
                Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the NASA 
                Administrator shall develop a common technology roadmap 
                through 2030 that describes potential development 
                programs and that coordinates, to the extent 
                practicable, terrestrial-based advanced nuclear reactor 
                and space-based nuclear power and propulsion efforts. 
                Agencies shall remain responsible for funding their 
                respective mission-unique requirements. The roadmap 
                shall also include, at a minimum:

(i) assessments of foreign nations' space nuclear power and propulsion 
technological capabilities;

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(ii) pathways for transitioning technologies developed through Federally 
supported programs to private-sector activities; and

(iii) other applications supporting the goals provided in section 1 of this 
order.

                    (b) The roadmap shall be submitted to the President 
                by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
                the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the 
                Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
                Policy, the Assistant to the President for National 
                Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for 
                Economic Policy, and the Executive Secretary of the 
                National Space Council before submissions of budget 
                proposals by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
                Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the NASA 
                Administrator.

                Sec. 8. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

                    (a) The term ``small modular reactor'' refers to an 
                advanced nuclear reactor of electric generation 
                capacity less than 300 megawatt-electric. Because of 
                the smaller size, small modular reactors can generally 
                be designed for factory fabrication and modular 
                construction to take advantage of economies of serial 
                production and shorter construction times.
                    (b) The term ``micro-reactor'' refers to a nuclear 
                reactor of electric generation capacity less than 10 
                megawatt-electric that can be deployed remotely. Micro-
                reactors are a subset of small modular reactors and are 
                also known as ``very small modular reactors.''
                    (c) The term ``transportable micro-reactor'' refers 
                to a micro-reactor that can be moved by truck, ship, or 
                large military transport aircraft and is capable of 
                both rapid deployment and teardown or removal, 
                typically with safe teardown or removal less than 1 
                week after 1 year of full-power operation.
                    (d) The term ``space exploration'' refers to in-
                space scientific and resource exploration, in-space 
                economic and industrial development, and development of 
                associated in-space logistical infrastructure.
                    (e) The term ``national defense'' refers to the 
                protection of the United States and its interests from 
                foreign attack or other natural danger, including 
                phenomena occurring on Earth and in space.

                Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

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                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 5, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-01013
Filed 1-13-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P