Meeting with NRC kicks off review activities and marks continued regulatory progress following acceptance of the KRONOS MMR™ Construction Permit Application and supports previously disclosed expectations for initial construction activities to begin in the second half of 2027
New York, N.Y., June 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear micro modular reactor and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today announced continued progress in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (“NRC”) review of the Construction Permit Application (“CPA”) for deployment of NANO Nuclear’s KRONOS MMR™ Energy System at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (“U. of I.”).
On June 23, 2026, the NRC publicly announced that it had met with representatives from U. of I. and NANO Nuclear to mark the start of its review of the CPA and the planned KRONOS MMR™ research reactor project on the U. of I. campus.
The meeting follows the agency’s formal acceptance of the KRONOS MMR™ CPA for review on May 18, 2026. Acceptance of the CPA initiated the NRC’s formal environmental, safety and technical review process for the planned deployment of the KRONOS MMR™ system at U. of I., representing a major advancement toward regulatory licensing, construction and future deployment of the reactor system.
The meeting also provided additional visibility into NRC’s anticipated review schedule, indicating that the environmental assessment is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2027 and the safety evaluation in early Fall of 2027. NANO Nuclear believes these projected review milestones are consistent with the Company’s previously disclosed expectation, announced following NRC acceptance of the CPA, that the formal NRC review process could be completed during 2027, providing the opportunity for initial construction activities on the U. of I. campus to commence during the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary project requirements.
NANO Nuclear believes the commencement of formal NRC review activities further reinforces the KRONOS MMR™ system’s position as the first commercially-ready microreactor developer and among a select group of advanced reactor programs progressing through the formal U.S. regulatory licensing process and highlights the Company’s broader strategy of accelerating commercialization through regulatory engagement, engineering advancement and strategic partnerships.
Figure 1: Representatives from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and NANO Nuclear Energy during the NRC review kickoff meeting announced on June 23, 2026. Credit: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“The commencement of formal NRC review activities represents an important progression in the licensing process for the KRONOS MMR™ system,” said Milos Atz, Director of Safety Analysis at NANO Nuclear Energy. “With the Construction Permit Application now under formal review, NRC staff can begin detailed evaluation of the environmental, safety and technical information supporting the proposed deployment at the University of Illinois. We view this latest engagement as another indication that the project is advancing through the regulatory process as anticipated, and we look forward to continuing our support of the NRC review activities in the months ahead.”
“The NRC’s announcement that review activities are now underway demonstrates continued forward momentum for the KRONOS MMR™ program following acceptance of the Construction Permit Application,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear Energy. “We are encouraged that the review schedule outlined by the NRC appears generally consistent with the timeline assumptions we previously communicated following acceptance of the application. Our team remains focused on supporting the NRC review process, advancing engineering activities and continuing preparations necessary to position the project for successful deployment at the University of Illinois. We believe each step forward in the regulatory process further strengthens KRONOS MMR™’s position among the most advanced commercially focused microreactor programs in the United States.”
KRONOS MMR™, NANO Nuclear’s lead microreactor project, is a proprietary, stationary, high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor under development, designed to provide clean, reliable energy for applications including data centers, industrial facilities, remote communities and mining projects, military installations and process heat applications across a variety of end markets.