Nuclear Domain

About Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power generates 18% of electricity in advanced economies and stands as the largest source of energy (NIA, 2022). Advanced nuclear reactor technologies play a vital role in supporting a reliable, resilient, and cost-effective energy system in the United States. Providing 56% of the nation's energy, nuclear power is not only the most reliable energy source but also a zero-emissions option. Innovations in nuclear technology are crucial for enhancing energy security, significantly increasing energy access, and driving progress toward an efficient energy future.

Emerging Technologies

The term “advanced reactor” is defined in the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), which became law in 2019, as a reactor with significant improvements compared to existing commercial reactors (e.g., additional inherent safety features; significantly lower levelized cost of electricity; lower waste yields; greater fuel utilization; enhanced reliability; increased proliferation resistance; increased thermal efficiency; or ability to integrate into electric and nonelectric applications). Emerging technologies in this area range from microreactors to small modular reactors (SMR) to larger, more efficient systems. They can provide power to remote areas that rely on oil or gas generators or for emergency power generation. SMRs can be built on retired coal plants to take advantage of the existing infrastructure.

Advanced reactor systems need a wide range of technology development, from state-of-the-art components to digital, safety, cyber security, and autonomous control systems. Technical needs and desired outcomes include:

Design, demonstrate, and rapidly deploy advanced reactors
- Safety systems that are simpler, less costly, and have fewer failure points
- Greater fuel utilization
- Enhanced reliability
- Increased proliferation resistance
- Increased thermal efficiency and the ability to integrate into electric and non-electric applications

Accelerate the development and qualification of nuclear fuels and materials.
Design, demonstrate, and rapidly deploy innovative and integrated nuclear fuel cycle solutions.

Intellectual Property

23

IP available for licensing

Nuclear Test Bed Facilities

National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC)

Location: Idaho National Lab

National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) is developing experimental or pilot reactor demonstration capability to support the advanced nuclear industry commercialization goals.
- DOME Test Bed (Demonstration of Operational Microreactor Experiments)
- LOTUS Test Bed (Laboratory for Operations and Testing in the United States)

Microreactor Agile Non-Nuclear Experimental Test Bed (MAGNET)

Location: Idaho National Lab

Microreactor Agile Non-Nuclear Experimental Test Bed (MAGNET) uses electrical resistance heaters to emulate core thermal behavior and provide input performance for heat pipe and gas-cooled microreactors.

MARVEL Test Microreactor

Location: Idaho National Lab

MARVEL Test Microreactor (Microreactor Application Research, Validation and EvaLuation Project) will be built and demonstrated in the TREAT facility. It will be connected to the world’s first nuclear microgrid and will be available for industry testing of other microreactor-related technologies.

Department of Energy Irradiation Test Reactors

Location: Idaho National Lab and Oak Ridge National Lab

Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is the world's most powerful research reactor to study the effects of intense neutron and gamma radiation on reactor materials and fuels.
Transient testing with controlled, short-term bursts of intense neutron flux directed toward a test specimen in order to study fuel and material performance under off-normal operational conditions and hypothetical accident scenarios.
High Flux Isotope Reactor’s (HFIR) steady-state neutron beam is the strongest reactor-based neutron source in the U.S. Thermal and cold neutrons are used to study physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and biology.

Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL)

Location: Argonne National Lab

The Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) facility, established in 2018, is an intermediate-scale liquid metal experimental facility that provides purified R-grade sodium to various experimental test vessels to test components that are required to operate in a prototypical advanced reactor environment. Experiments conducted in METL significantly assist the development of advanced reactors. METL is funded through NRIC

Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR)

Location: Oak Ridge National Lab

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) Program was developed to utilize additive manufacturing (AM) and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver enabling technologies for advanced reactors. TCR is now being joined with Advanced Methods for Manufacturing (AMM) and Nuclear Materials Discovery and Qualification Initiative (NMDQi) to address the whole lifecycle of nuclear materials and related technologies

Liquid Salt Test Loop (LSTL)

Location: Oak Ridge National Lab

The Liquid Salt Test Loop (LSTL) is a versatile facility able to support development and demonstration of components such as seals, valves, pump components, I&C, heat exchangers, etc. The loop also provides data for code benchmarking and validation.

Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF)

Location: Idaho National Lab

The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) is the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's only designated nuclear energy user facility. Through peer-reviewed proposal processes, NSUF provides researchers access to neutron, ion, and gamma irradiations, post-irradiation examination, and beamline capabilities at INL, universities, national laboratories, and industry partner institutions.
NSUF manages the Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library (NFML), a collection of specialized information and material specimens from past and ongoing irradiation test campaigns, real-world components retrieved from decommissioned power reactors, and donations from other sources. Everything in NFML is available to the nuclear research network, either through a peer-reviewed proposal process or through direct programmatic request.

Safety and Tritium Applied Research Facility (STAR)

Location: Idaho National Lab

The Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) facility is a Department of Energy (DOE) Below Hazard Category 3 nuclear facility at Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor Complex. This facility advances tritium and fusion nuclear sciences.
The 4,000-square-foot tritium facility incorporates various experiments to identify the potential risks and hazards associated with tritium retention and permeation in fusion material, as well as the development of technologies to minimize the environmental impacts of fusion energy.

Leading Nuclear Innovation

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the domain chair for nuclear energy in the Cradle to Commerce program.

INL is the nation’s leading center for nuclear energy research and development. The laboratory performs work in each of the Department of Energy’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, and environment. From advanced nuclear energy to protecting our nation’s most critical infrastructure assets, INL is home to more than 5,700 researchers and support staff focused on innovation in nuclear research, and security solutions that are changing the world.