Top 7 must-read nuclear energy stories of 2025

The year 2025 marked a pivotal moment in the global nuclear energy sector, signaling a true “nuclear renaissance” with groundbreaking advancements across multiple technologies. Notably, the Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s only floating nuclear power plant located in the Arctic, generated its first billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, supplying over 60% of the Chukotka region’s power and demonstrating the viability of mobile, carbon-free nuclear energy for remote areas. Meanwhile, the United States announced plans for a historic 6,000-megawatt nuclear power plant combining large reactors and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), with NuScale Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority advancing deployment of nearly 72 SMR modules to meet rising energy demands, especially from AI data centers and heavy industry. Fusion energy also took center stage in 2025 with significant breakthroughs. Helion Energy, backed by major tech investors including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, began construction of the world’s first commercial fusion