- Money will fund innovative projects at national labs, universities and companies
- Funding will go to 89 projects in 29 states
- DOE’s McGinnis says funding research capabilities and infrastructure is “critical”
In a demonstration of the Trump administration’s continued support for revitalizing the commercial nuclear industry, the Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced nearly $64 million in funding for advanced nuclear energy technology projects conducted by DOE national laboratories, universities and private companies.
In recent months, DOE has provided almost $90 million in funding for advanced nuclear R&D projects through several different mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) voucher initiative that gives technology developers access to the facilities and expertise of the national laboratory complex, through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and for individual projects.
In the latest announcement, DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy selected 89 projects in 29 states for funding for nuclear energy research, facility access and technology and infrastructure development.
The move will help maintain U.S. leadership in nuclear energy research in a time of increasing global competition, by helping top nuclear engineering faculty and students to develop innovative technologies.
“Because nuclear energy is such a vital part of our nation’s energy portfolio, these investments are necessary to ensuring that future generations of Americans will continue to benefit from safe, clean, reliable and resilient nuclear energy,” DOE Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Ed McGinnis said. “Our commitment to providing researchers with access to the fundamental infrastructure and capabilities needed to develop advanced nuclear technologies is critical.”
The awards are being dispersed under three DOE nuclear energy programs: the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) program and the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program.
The following is a breakdown of the award recipients by program:
- DOE is awarding $47 million to 63 U.S. university-led nuclear energy research and development projects in 29 states via the NEUP program.
- An additional $5 million is being awarded under NEUP to support 18 university-led projects for research reactor improvements.
- Through the NEET program, DOE is awarding $5 million for five research and development projects led by DOE national laboratories, industry and universities.
- Under NSUF, DOE selected three projects to receive $6.6 million to investigate important nuclear fuel and material applications.
The DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy has a complete list of the awardees, a small sampling of which includes:
- $799,727 to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to develop and provide data analytics solutions to improve nuclear power plants’ economic efficiency.
- $800,000 to Ohio State University to develop a first-of-a-kind framework for integrating Big Data capability into the daily activities of the current fleet of nuclear power plants.
- $800,000 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to seek detailed knowledge about the molecular structure and dynamics of molten salts to inform the design of molten-salt reactors.