SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A nuclear reactor that seems on a fast track for development in Utah, by a company known as Valar Atomics, may yield important research information but it won't produce any energy.

"They're going to be building a test reactor here in Utah," said Governor Cox in a 2News interview Thursday. "This is a test reactor that, assuming everything goes the way it's intended to, will lead to energy production down the road over the next ten years here in Utah and across the world."

Last week, President Trump signed executive orders which the White House said are aimed at speeding up approvals of downsized nuclear plants called small modular reactors.

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Cox and Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor quickly went on Bloomberg TV and announced a "partnership" between the state and the company.

In our 2News interview, Cox said a memorandum of understanding with Valor allows the firm to use the San Rafael Energy Research Center in Emery County—a facility purchased, or about to be bought by the state, which was founded by Emery County commissioners several years ago.

Taylor, on X, was content to break the news, lauding the partnership with Utah "to turn on an advanced reactor on American soil by July 2, 2026, America's 250th birthday."

Taylor has described himself as a "self-taught engineer," and the company is reportedly two years old.

"For people who might say Utah is betting on an unproven company with unproven technology, how would you respond?" 2News asked the governor.

"I would respond by saying we're not just betting on Valar," replied Cox. "We're going to have lots of announcements around nuclear technology. There are several companies that are interested in Utah, interested in what's happening with this nuclear renaissance, and Utah is at the forefront of that."

2News has filed records requests for the Utah-Valar memorandum of understanding and for the state's purchase of the research center.

The governor said the deal with Valar will cost the state "virtually nothing," that Utah is "just providing the space and infrastructure" for the company.

He said safety will be assured by working with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through planning, building and implementation, adding the demand for new energy is driven by AI.

So, if the first reactor is a test, when will new power surge from a nuclear plant here?

"Our hope is in the next five years, we will actually have nuclear power here in Utah," said the governor, certainly by the Olympics. That's the long horizon. I want to beat that significantly and I think it can be done."

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