Microsoft and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have launched a major collaboration aimed at dramatically accelerating the U.S. nuclear reactor permitting process by leveraging advanced artificial intelligence technologies. Announced on July 16, 2025, the partnership will deploy Microsoft’s Azure platform and generative AI tools to help automate the creation of complex engineering and safety documents required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Department of Energy (DOE) for licensing new nuclear reactors.
The project is supported by funding from the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy through its National Reactor Innovation Center. It represents the next phase in Microsoft and INL’s ongoing work, which previously included a 2023 initiative to create a digital twin of a nuclear reactor. This latest endeavor focuses on streamlining licensing timelines without compromising the rigorous safety standards that govern the nuclear energy industry.
Instead of conducting technical safety evaluations, the AI systems will scan and synthesize vast volumes of engineering and regulatory data to generate preliminary drafts of licensing paperwork. Human experts can then review and refine these drafts, saving valuable time and reducing bottlenecks in the review process. According to Microsoft’s Heidi Kobylski, this approach frees scientists and regulators to concentrate on more intricate safety analyses by automating routine and repetitive tasks.
INL’s associate laboratory director Jess Gehin noted that the AI tools could particularly benefit the amendment process for existing nuclear reactors. Drawing on data from more than 80 past reactor upgrades, the AI could quickly produce tailored amendment requests—work that traditionally takes months for engineers to prepare manually.
This technological push comes amid a broader national effort to modernize nuclear infrastructure and accelerate reactor deployment timelines. Recent executive orders and energy policy goals have called for permitting processes to be shortened to as little as 18 months, in order to meet the dual pressures of growing energy demands—particularly from the data center industry—and the need to reduce carbon emissions through clean energy sources.
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Industry analysts see the Microsoft-INL collaboration as a pivotal development in this shift. Streamlining the licensing of nuclear reactors through AI could lower barriers for investment in both traditional light-water reactors and newer advanced designs that use alternative fuels and materials. The AI framework is intended to be adaptable across a wide range of reactor types, from small modular reactors to experimental facilities.
This partnership is part of a growing trend of public-private alliances using artificial intelligence to improve regulatory efficiency in energy infrastructure. Other efforts include collaborations between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and startup Atomic Canyon, as well as initiatives from Westinghouse and Google to apply AI in nuclear design and safety modeling.
Microsoft’s expanding role in energy innovation is emblematic of how tech companies are applying cloud computing and machine learning to sectors well beyond consumer products. For Microsoft, this project is another example of how AI can be deployed for real-world problem solving, particularly in industries facing significant regulatory and technological hurdles.
If successful, this initiative could play a critical role in reshaping how nuclear projects are licensed in the United States, offering a faster, more cost-effective pathway for clean energy deployment—without compromising public safety or environmental oversight.
