EIRP’s report The Case for Commercial Recycling of Used Nuclear Fuel: Assessment and Recommendations finds that recent technological advances, market shifts, and geopolitical factors make commercial used nuclear fuel recycling both feasible and strategically urgent for the United States. EIRP produced the report in partnership with advanced reactor developer Oklo.
In the Albany Times Union, Samuel Thernstrom and Paul Saunders note growing state-level interest in nuclear power and call for further federal action to support nuclear energy deployment. And they highlight key recommendations from EIRP’s Working Group on U.S. Nuclear Energy Dominance.
This new paper assesses opportunities for enhancing US-Republic of Korea civil nuclear cooperation. Written by Jackie Toth of New Hill Consulting, the paper summarizes key conclusions from a November 2025 workshop. The report is the latest installment in EIRP’s US-Korea Energy Series, edited by Paul Saunders.
As the Trump administration works to accelerate domestic deployment of nuclear energy, EIRP and the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum convened an off-the-record discussion to assess opportunities and challenges for U.S.-South Korea cooperation in the United States and in third countries. KAIF represents about five hundred firms in South Korea’s nuclear sector. EIRP Senior Advisor Paul Saunders moderated the session, which took place in Washington on November 20, 2025.
In Harvard University’s Russia Matters, Paul Saunders argues that the combination of Western bans on importing Russian oil with the oil price cap have produced a massive oil windfall for China. Competing with Moscow and Beijing simultaneously will require greater sophistication in U.S. policy.
The collision between geopolitics, energy, and technology may be a defining aspect of the international system in the 2020s. Even as the United States and its allies work to diversify their supply chains to avoid over-dependence on geopolitical competitors, they are in simultaneous cooperation and competition with one another. The session explored opportunities for deeper cooperation with U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region in energy and energy-related technologies, including electric vehicles and batteries, as well as underlying tensions.
On May 29, 2024, Energy Innovation Reform Project sponsored an online discussion of China’s dominant position in electric vehicle battery markets and opportunities for U.S.-South Korea cooperation. EIRP senior advisor Paul Saunders moderated the session, which included remarks by the University of Georgia’s David Gattie and Hanyang University’s Younkyoo Kim. Each of the speakers has contributed working papers to EIRP’s U.S.-Korea Energy Series.
In The Washington Times, EIRP Senior Advisor Paul Saunders, who is also President of the Center for the National Interest, argues that after decades of concern over Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, Washington would do well to turn its attention to Moscow’s new energy partners, including not only its oil and gas customers, but also the governments seeking Russian help to develop nuclear energy and to develop energy-related mining projects.
Contributing the fourth paper in EIRP’s US-Korea Energy Series, Hanyang University’s Younkyoo Kim provides a South Korean perspective on US-China competition surrounding EV battery supply chains as well as US-South Korea cooperation in addressing it. He gives special attention to South Korea’s dependence on China as a challenge for policymakers.
In the third paper in EIRP’s US-Korea Energy Series, David Gattie and Chase Duncan of the University of Georgia’s Center for International Trade and Security address China’s dominance of electric vehicle battery supply chains and how further US-Korea cooperation could support American policy goals.
