National Reactor Innovation Center
The NRIC team is committed to tackling the necessary tasks and challenges to identify and fill gaps that hinder advancing nuclear energy. This includes engaging with regulators and stakeholders and enhancing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory infrastructure and capabilities.
What's New?
DOME Scheduling Announcement Made
DOME Environmental Assessment Issued
DOE’s New Pilot Program Announced. Proposals Due 7/21/2025
Company breaks ground on nation’s first experimental modular reactor
INL officials met with Texas-based Aalo Atomics on a 1-acre parcel inside the INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex Thursday morning for the groundbreaking of Aalo-X, the first experimental extra modular nuclear reactor.
DOE fast tracks test reactor projects: What to know
The race to bring test reactors on line by July 4, 2026, got a boost today when the Department of Energy unveiled the names of 10 companies selected for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program—a new pathway that allows reactor authorization outside national labs
INL is Microreactor Central for Testing Designs & Fuels
A scan of multiple announcements by companies developing microreactors, e.g., less than 20 MW of electrical generation capacity, shows that nine of them, so far, have developed or are in the process of developing arrangements with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to test their designs and, for some, also the fuels for their reactors.
Oklo accelerates Aurora SMR deployment with nuclear-backed infrastructure alliances poised to transform data center power
Oklo is moving quickly toward commercializing its Aurora small modular reactor with major partnerships and regulatory milestones that signal a new era of clean, resilient power for hyperscale data centers and industrial customers.