In a post dated August 12, 2025, signed by Isaiah Taylor, Valar said DOE had selected it to achieve criticality on American soil by July 4, 2026, pursuant to Executive Order 14301. The post thanks President Trump and Energy Secretary Wright, and Governor Cox and his administration for their partnership, names the test site as the San Rafael Energy Research Center in Emery County, and says testing there can proceed without multi-year licensing delays under the new framework. It describes the test reactor as a TRISO-fueled high-temperature proof-of-concept and claims operating temperatures above 750 C. The post frames the effort as a 'second Manhattan Project'. DOE's own selection announcement is covered in government.json.

• Valar Atomics Selected for the President’s Accelerated Nuclear Program (Valar Atomics, 2025-08-12) primary company “selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to achieve criticality on American soil”