Navigating Nuclear: Tennessee

Tennessee has been one of the centers of nuclear innovation in the United States since the first days of the Manhattan Project. Today, Tennessee remains a leader in the nuclear industry and is home to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, four nuclear power plants, and dozens of cutting-edge nuclear facilities, including sites for waste processing and fusion research. Although the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) remains responsible for the regulation of nuclear power plants and fuel enrichment and fabrication facilities, the state of Tennessee, under a 1965 Agreement with the NRC’s predecessor agency, is responsible for the regulation of byproduct material, source material, and special nuclear material in quantities not sufficient to form a critical mass.¹ Nuclear companies operating in Tennessee need high-quality legal support to navigate the complex mix of state and federal regulations that govern the use of nuclear materials in the state. In January 2026, the American Nuclear Society named Tennessee the “epicenter” of nuclear growth in the United States.²

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is a champion of the nuclear industry. In May 2023, the governor signed Executive Order 101,³ creating the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council to further advance the nuclear industry in the state.⁴ That same year, Governor Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly created the Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Investment Fund, a US$70 million fund to facilitate nuclear energy business investment, workforce development programs, and site development.⁵ In addition to these statewide initiatives, local government and industry representatives have championed the industry for decades through the East Tennessee Economic Council⁶ and other groups and individuals. US Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Chairman of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Committee and whose district includes Oak Ridge, has routinely championed the Oak Ridge community and the nuclear industry at large. For example, Rep. Fleischmann sponsored the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, which included an US$800 million federal cost-shared grant program for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to support small modular reactors (SMRs) and other advanced nuclear technology.⁷ The Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Appropriations Act also included increased funding to the NRC and funding for advanced reactor and SMR demonstration projects, among other nuclear priorities.⁸

Below, we provide a short summary of some of the advanced nuclear companies that are operating in Tennessee:

Kairos

Kairos⁹ is an advanced reactor¹⁰ developer that, as of the date of this alert, has received two construction permits from the NRC.¹¹ Like many advanced reactors, Kairos’s reactor uses alternative fuel and coolant, “pebble type” tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel and molten fluoride salt.¹² Kairos has selected Oak Ridge as the site for its two low-power test reactors and has partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority on a power purchase agreement to deliver 50 megawatts (MW) from its Hermes 2 plant. The 50 MW generated by Hermes 2 is part of Kairos’s agreement with Google to “enable up to 500 MW” of nuclear power by 2035.¹³ Additionally, Kairos recently finalized a contract with DOE to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), sourced from DOE material, for the startup and operation of the Hermes 1 plant.¹⁴

Orano 

Orano¹⁵ is a technology and services provider with expertise in decommissioning nuclear energy facilities, nuclear fuel management, and the sale of uranium, conversion, and enrichment services. Building on this expertise, Orano plans to construct a uranium enrichment facility near Oak Ridge, designed to provide “several million” separative work units¹⁶ of enrichment capacity.¹⁷ In January 2026, as part of a larger US$2.7 billion investment, DOE announced a US$900 million award to support this facility.¹⁸ 

EnergySolutions

EnergySolutions¹⁹ is an international nuclear services company and a global leader in the safe recycling, processing, and disposal of nuclear material. In Tennessee, EnergySolutions’s Bear Creek Processing Facility in Oak Ridge provides safe processing of radioactive material.²⁰ EnergySolutions recently won two US Navy nuclear waste contracts, including a corporate recycling and volume reduction contract that will include processing activities for recycling and volume reduction at Bear Creek.²¹ Additionally, EnergySolutions is establishing an advanced nuclear fabrication and manufacturing facility in Roane County, Tennessee, to support nuclear plant life extension and nuclear power plant construction as part of its nuclear services division.²²

Radiant

Radiant²³ is a microreactor (~1MW) developer working to provide “the world’s first portable, zero-emissions power source that works anywhere.”²⁴ In 2025, Radiant announced plans to build its first “R-50” factory in Oak Ridge.²⁵ This naming scheme acknowledges the Manhattan Project heritage of Oak Ridge (where sites included Y-12 and K-25) and Radiant’s plans to build 50 reactors per year once the R-50 factory is fully operational.

Standard Nuclear  

Standard Nuclear²⁶ is a producer of TRISO fuel based in Oak Ridge. In January 2026, Standard Nuclear received a shipment of HALEU from DOE, the first such shipment to a commercial TRISO fuel fabricator in the United States. This HALEU will be fabricated into TRISO fuel for Radiant’s advanced reactor demonstration, which is scheduled for later this year.²⁷

X-Energy

X-Energy²⁸ is a nuclear reactor and fuel-design engineering company working on advanced SMRs that use TRISO fuel. Long Mott Energy, LLC has applied for an NRC construction permit to build X-Energy’s Xe-100 at a facility in Texas.²⁹ In 2025, X-Energy’s wholly owned subsidiary, TRISO-X, began above ground construction at its fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, with an NRC licensing decision expected in the first half of 2026.³⁰ The company plans to begin operation at the facility in 2028. 

LIS Technologies

LIS Technologies³¹ is planning an enrichment plant called LIST Island that will be built on the footprint of the historic K-25 uranium enrichment site.³² The company is set to begin site preparation and nonnuclear construction this year, pending licensing, permitting, and final investment decisions, and it is targeting commercial operations before 2030.³³

Oklo

Advanced reactor company Oklo³⁴ is planning an “advanced fuel center” in Oak Ridge. The facility would recover and recycle used fuel from existing reactors into fuel for advanced reactors. Oklo is currently in pre-application discussions with the NRC. 

Type One Energy

Fusion company Type One Energy³⁵ is developing a stellarator fusion energy system. Type One Energy is working with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a project to demonstrate elements of its fusion pilot plant at a former fossil fuel plant in Tennessee. 

The nuclear industry continues to grow in Tennessee, and the firm is well positioned to support clients who are interested in investing in this growing market. Our team in Nashville, in coordination with our national and international nuclear team, is available to support client projects in the state. 

Nashville Nuclear Team 

The firm has a robust team of Nuclear Energy practitioners, spanning offices throughout the United States, that draw on deep experience at the state, federal, and international levels. In Tennessee, our Nashville office brings together lawyers with legal, technical, and regulatory backgrounds—paired with local market knowledge—to ensure that any nuclear investment in Tennessee is well positioned for success.

Ellery R. Richardson has over a decade of regulatory compliance, licensing, waste management, brownfield, and remediation experience in Tennessee. She helps clients navigate environmental permitting, licensing, waste management, and environmental siting concerns. She leverages her deep roots in Tennessee and technical background to find solutions to complex regulatory problems and interface with state and local agencies.

Slade Sevier is the US coordinator of the Construction and Infrastructure practice group in the firm’s Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources practice, which consists of full-time dedicated construction lawyers who regularly advise on all aspects of a construction project’s life cycle, from the early transactional stages of engineering, procurement, and construction contracting; permitting; and design through implementation, construction, project close-out, and dispute resolution. 

Ryan A. Lee is a trusted advisor for project owners, developers, contractors, and designers for their construction-related transactional and litigation matters. Ryan regularly represents clients across a broad range of energy projects, including solar, renewable natural gas, battery energy storage system, nuclear, and related manufacturing projects. In addition, Ryan is adept at handling governmental regulatory matters where he draws upon his past experience as an assistant attorney general for the state of Tennessee. 

Emma R. Wolfe is a partner in the firm’s Construction and Infrastructure practice group. Emma focuses her practice on assisting clients with a variety of construction and infrastructure disputes and dispute resolution procedures. These disputes involve a range of issues, including those related to design and construction defect, warranty, termination, disruption and delay, regulatory and code violations, interconnection, licensing, lien, and payment. Emma has handled issues in the energy industry related to coal, natural gas, onshore wind, solar, geothermal, and other projects.

Navigating Nuclear Series 

We’re proud to share our series, Navigating Nuclear, designed to deliver critical insights on nuclear hubs across the United States. As the industry adapts to rising demand and evolving policy landscapes, so too do the companies and projects shaping its future. While this series summarizes key projects in nuclear hubs, it is not meant to reflect the full breadth of activity within the nuclear sector. We will continue to track industry and project developments and will share updates as they emerge. 

If you have specific questions or would like to discuss opportunities further, our Nuclear Energy team is here to help. We are positioned to support organizations across the entire nuclear energy value chain. We offer guidance to clients through our decades of international, federal, state, and local experience, complemented by proficiency in disciplines including physics, engineering, geology, and public health. With the strength of local presence and the reach of a global platform, we provide strategic counsel that helps leaders navigate complex challenges and seize emerging opportunities in the nuclear sector.