Updates

The controversial future of nuclear power in the U.S.

May 4, 2021

As the climate crisis worsens, the discussion intensifies over what role nuclear power should play in fighting it. President Joe Biden has set ambitious goals for fighting climate change: To cut U.S. carbon emissions in half by 2030 and to have a net-zero carbon economy by 2050. The plan requires electricity generatio...

NRIC Quarterly Newsletter – Spring 2021

Welcome to our first quarterly newsletter. We are well into our second year of operations at the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), and I am excited to share some highlights about NRIC’s progress as we advance toward demonstrations of advanced nuclear reactors.

A Faster Path to Carbon-Free Power

February 25, 2021

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) teamed up to adapt an approach that could save more than a year and millions of dollars in regulatory and vendor costs. The approach, called Plant Parameter Envelopes (PPEs), simplifies the N...

New webinar series kicks off with digital engineering

February 11, 2021

Digital engineering is a powerful tool that can accelerate the demonstration and improve the economics of advanced nuclear energy projects. It also will be the topic of the first webinar in a National Reactor Innovation Center series “NRIC Tech Talks.”

Digital engineering to advance nuclear energy deployment

February 11, 2021

In an industry vulnerable to cost overruns and schedule delays, digital engineering offers hope for accelerated deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. Digital engineering is a game changer for nuclear energy.

National Reactor Innovation Center’s Webinar Features Terrapower, X-Energy

January 4, 2021

The National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) webinar “What Inspires Us: Advanced Reactor Demonstrations” will focus on the U.S. Department of Energy awards to TerraPower and X-energy to build their advanced nuclear reactors by 2027.

Why the Future of Nuclear Power Is Tiny and Factory-Made

November 13, 2020

In the 1950s, few things seemed more futuristic and utopian than harnessing nuclear energy to power your home. Towering nuclear reactors popped up across the U.S. with the promise of harvesting energy from smashed atoms of Uranium to power everything from lights in an office to an oven cooking a pot roast. With clean a...

Department of Energy picks two advanced nuclear reactors for demonstration projects

October 16, 2020

Two advanced nuclear reactors, commercial molten-salt and gas-cooled, will be built within 7 years

DOE Awards $80M each to TerraPower, X-Energy for ARDP

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $160 million in First Awards Under Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today (10-/13/20)) announced it has selected two U.S.-based teams to receive $160 million in initial funding under the new Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).

Natrium, Xe-100 Are DOE’s Picks for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Demonstrations

TerraPower and X-energy will each receive $80 million in initial federal funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration

Energy leaders hail $160M allocation as ‘huge’ step for U.S. nuke leadership

Energy officials are celebrating the allocation of $160 million to deploy advanced nuclear reactors as a pivotal moment for advancing American energy leadership.

Two novel reactors target niche corners of the market

Two novel reactors, Radiant’s micro reactor and TerraPower’s Natrium project have made headlines recently for advances they have made toward their own unique, demonstratable nuclear-fueled power generators and both programs show how entrepreneurs in the advanced nuclear reactor space are streamlining designs to ...