Nuclear's Colocation Moment: Reading the Signal Behind the July 2026 Criticality Milestones

This IDC Market Perspective examines how Executive Order 14301 and the Department of Energy's accelerated Reactor Pilot Program, which saw four advanced reactors achieve criticality by July 4, 2026, are reshaping colocation providers' energy strategies. It highlights nuclear's emerging role alongside renewables, evolving financing models, and the execution risks datacenter operators face as they pursue small modular reactor (SMR) power to address grid constraints, sustainability goals, and regulatory changes."We are seeing real momentum behind nuclear in the datacenter clean energy mix, and hitting four criticality milestones ahead of the July 4 deadline is a meaningful proof point. But there's still a gap between a test reactor going critical and a commercial reactor delivering power to a live campus. That said, the timeline for closing that gap looks shorter than it did even a year ago," says Olga Yashkova, research manager, Worldwide Telecommunications Services, IDC.