Nuclear Technology Horizons: Emerging Concepts, Enabling Tools, and Future Applications

Nuclear science is entering a period where emerging ideas are moving from speculation into practice. New reactor classes — from microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs) to Gen-IV designs and compact fusion systems — are being shaped not just by technical ambition but by supply chains, licensing frameworks, and new end-use market demands. At the same time, advances in simulation, artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, and quantum technology are getting to a point where they can transform how quickly and confidently, we can design, validate, and operate these systems. Supporting all of this are enabling tools: research reactors as testbeds, advanced fuels, enhanced materials and quantum materials, additive manufacturing, and novel instrumentation such as quantum sensors. The pull for these innovations is real and urgent — from key terrestrial applications such as producing hydrogen, to supplying clean energy for remote mines, greenhouses, and even data centres, to space applications such as powering lunar surface systems and propulsion for deep space exploration.Much of the published literature still reviews legacy fleets or established methods. What’s missing is a venue that captures the early demonstrations, design pathways, and enabling infrastructure and tools that will define the next decades.This Research Topic aims to address the gap in existing literature by exploring the emerging nuclear horizons that are shaping the field at an accelerated pace, including the integration of digital and quantum-enabled tools in design and operation. By bringing together contributions across novel concepts, enabling tools, and future applications, this collection will provide a coherent view of where the nuclear sector is heading, what barriers remain, and what opportunities are opening.This Research Topic welcomes articles addressing the following subjects:• Advanced nuclear power generation concepts, e.g. SMRs, microreactors, Gen-IV fission designs, and fusion systems• Enabling infrastructure and tools, e.g. research reactors, robotics, and instrumentation and diagnosis employing quantum sensing • Innovative digital and computational methods, e.g. digital twins, quantum computing, and AI-driven diagnostics• Emerging applications, e.g. space exploration, mining, and nuclear-powered greenhouses. Topic editors: Zahra Yamani, Chenglong Wang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79805/nuclear-technology-horizons-emerging-concepts-enabling-tools-and-future-applications