Turns out, even the notoriously slow world of nuclear energy licensing can get a jolt from AI. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) just used artificial intelligence to convert a hefty safety document for advanced reactors into the format the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) uses for commercial licenses. What normally takes a team of humans four to six weeks? The AI did it in a single day.
Yes, you read that right. One day. For a 208-page document. Let that satisfying number sink in. This isn't just about saving time; it's about potentially accelerating the deployment of next-gen nuclear reactors, which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.
No More Bureaucratic Black Holes?
Rian Bahran, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors, put it bluntly: it's time to move fast with AI in nuclear energy. He sees this partnership, backed by presidential orders, as a way to transform how the industry prepares regulatory documents and gets these reactors online — all while maintaining the ironclad safety and compliance standards we all expect when 'nuclear' is involved.
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Start Your News DetoxThe AI in question is Everstar's Gordian solution, running on Microsoft Azure. It took a safety analysis for the DOE's National Reactor Innovation Center's (NRIC) Generic High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) and diced it up into sections that perfectly match an NRC license application. Like a super-smart, super-fast intern who actually wants to do paperwork.
Beyond just speed, the AI tool also flagged any missing or incomplete information. Because apparently, even AI knows when you've forgotten to carry the one, or, you know, detail a crucial safety protocol. Gordian was specifically designed for complex nuclear technical work, packed with physics and engineering tools. It doesn't just copy-paste; it understands and combines data using something called semantic ontology mapping. This means the final output is calculated and verified, not just a fancy guess.
Kevin Kong, CEO of Everstar, is understandably thrilled, noting that nuclear energy is poised to solve today's energy challenges. And Microsoft's Carmen Krueger highlighted how secure, scalable AI can tackle both energy and national security goals. So, the next time you're stuck filling out a form, just remember: somewhere, an AI is probably licensing a nuclear reactor in the time it takes you to find a working pen.
