Nuclear startup Oklo (OKLO) stock jumped 14.5% Tuesday after Axios reported that President Trump is preparing an executive order aimed at accelerating nuclear reactor deployment in the U.S.
The order, which could be signed in the coming days, would lean heavily on the Departments of Defense and Energy to bypass regulatory bottlenecks at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to Axios.
The goal is to fast-track new nuclear builds to meet the country’s soaring energy demand.
The reported move marks another clear signal of the Trump administration’s backing of the nuclear sector, which is now led by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, a former Oklo board member.
Constellation Energy (CEG), another key nuclear player, rose 10.3% on the news.
Trump’s upcoming order would reportedly cover a “wide spectrum of nuclear matters,” spanning both civilian and national security needs.
The administration is said to be pushing for the first commercial deployment of an advanced reactor before Trump leaves office.
From coal to clean energy?
On the campaign trail, Trump struck a skeptical tone on nuclear, often touting coal and dismissing clean energy initiatives.
In an October interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, he called nuclear projects “too big and too complex and too expensive,” adding, “There’s a little danger to nuclear… we had some really bad nuclear.”
But industry insiders say that view is evolving, especially when it comes to small modular reactors (SMRs), like the ones Oklo is developing.
After Trump’s election win in November, Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte told CNBC that the incoming administration’s “America First” stance could be a tailwind for the industry, citing a focus on “regulatory modernization.”
“He was talking about the big plants,” DeWitte said of Trump’s Rogan comments. “He’s been supportive of small reactors like ours.”
Oklo aims to launch its first reactor by early 2028.
Energy demand is exploding, and nuclear may be the answer
Support for nuclear has grown across the aisle in recent years, with DeWitte noting “a huge amount of bipartisan support” dating back to the Obama administration. And the urgency is only increasing as America’s power needs climb.
AI-driven data centers are at the heart of that surge.
A report from the U.S. Department of Energy found that U.S. data centers consumed 4.4% of total electricity in 2023, a figure that could more than double by 2028—reaching as much as 12%.
That shift has helped reshape public opinion around nuclear. DeWitte told Bloomberg’s Open Interest podcast that the internet is helping “change hearts and minds” as people dig into the facts.
“The world is shifting radically,” he said. “You can take a golf ball-sized piece of uranium metal and power your entire life’s energy needs, without carbon emissions, and do it more economically and sustainably than anything else.”
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