New From Us
Event Reflection: STARTing Over? Russo-American Arms Control at a Crossroads
Oppenheimer Project–Stimson Center Online Panel
2/3/26
10:00 am EST/7:00 am PT/6:00 pm MSK
Event Recording Link: https://youtu.be/wg94UXgY0a4
Lucas:
On Tuesday the Oppenheimer Project team co-hosted a live webinar with the Stimson Center covering the February 5, 2026 expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which was the last remaining arms control treaty between the United States and Russia. Participating in the event were three American and three Russian experts of nuclear arms control and nonproliferation, including Matthew Bunn of the Harvard Kennedy School, Rita Guenther of the National Academy of Sciences, and Scott D. Sagan of Stanford University, as well as Anton Khlopkov of the Center for Energy and Security Studies, and Feodor Voitolovsky and Dmitry Stefanovich of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. As the only public-facing event in the world which convened experts representing both parties to the New START Treaty, panelists demonstrated productive discourse on pathways for future arms control engagement.
What interested me the most about the discussion was the collegiality between the panelists. In Western media coverage of international politics much is made about Russia as a political entity, one that is at times portrayed as a monolithic embodiment of Vladimir Putin’s will or as an Hegelian “other” which seeks the subversion of liberal democracy broadly and/or American power; context is lost. The engagement of Russian experts in our discussion – their laughter, perceptive insights, and respectful demeanor – helped to counteract the prevailing wisdom that constructive dialogue between the United States and Russia is unfeasible. The Russian experts expressed interest in learning who the relevant nuclear policy figures in the Trump administration were, and the American experts showed interest in how the Russian expert community viewed the North Korean and Chinese nuclear programs. This mutual curiosity reinforced the idea that expanded bilateral or even trilateral engagement is worth pursuing. We are proud to have been a part of this convening and are excited by the prospect of continuing it into the future!
Friday Highlights:
Hungary’s Paks II Nuclear Power Plant Officially Under Construction
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has poured the first concrete for the foundation of the fifth reactor in Hungary’s Paks II nuclear power plant project. According to the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Paks II site is expected to enable the country to cover 70% of its energy consumption with nuclear power.
Tennessee Company Applies for License to Build World’s First Fusion Plant
Type One Energy, a Knoxville-based nuclear company backed by Bill Gates, applied for a byproduct materials license from the state of Tennessee to help it build the world’s first fusion plant. The company has plans to build an Infinity One prototype testbed and a second fusion device. The company’s total assets sit at an estimated $695 million.
New Report: Right-Sizing Reactors: Balancing trade offs between economies of scale and volume
In a new report published by the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Dr. Jessica Lovering evaluated the pros and cons of states pursuing traditional, large-build nuclear reactors or small modular reactors. She concludes in her report that while there is evidence for economies of scale with nuclear reactors, the current challenge is to create the enabling conditions that let customers choose the right reactor for their specific needs and market.