10 CFR Part 53 takes effect April 29, 2026 — the first new reactor licensing framework in 37 years. It is risk-informed, performance-based, and explicitly designed for non-LWR advanced reactors. Every incumbent microreactor was conceived under Part 50/52 and is retrofitting to Part 53. TidalCore starts there.
NRC pre-application meeting under Reg Guide 1.232; topical reports for heat-pipe primary, TRISO qualification by reference to AGR program.
Conformance mapping against §53.210 (design requirements) and §53.220 (performance requirements). Defense-in-depth white paper.
10 CFR Part 53 Subpart C — risk-informed, performance-based. Eight chapter Standard Review Plan adaptation.
10 CFR Part 52 Subpart F filed in parallel for the sealed cassette production facility — first commercial use of MFL in 40+ years.
Joint port-siting protocol with U.S. Coast Guard OCMI and IMO MSC interim guidance for stationary marine-adjacent reactors.
Lead site (notional Port of Houston pilot) COL issued under Part 53; FOAK construction commences.
Hot functional testing complete; grid-tied shore-power and ammonia-loop tie-in commissioned.
Stationary deployment on a graving-dock pad inside the port's secure perimeter intentionally avoids Outer Continental Shelf jurisdictional ambiguity. The reactor is land-based and unambiguously NRC-regulated. USCG retains OCMI authority over the marine approach and shore-power umbilical interface; IMO MSC provides guidance for the bunker-ammonia loop only where it crosses the vessel boundary. The dual-jurisdiction precedent of the NS Savannah is modernized for commercial use.