The Idaho National Laboratory would be the center of a major new nuclear energy research initiative if legislation being introduced by Senator Mike Crapo becomes law. A bi-partisan companion bill cleared the U.S. House sub-committee on Science, Space, and Technology this week.
The Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) would require the Department of Energy to work with private partnerships to test and demonstrate new reactor concepts. INL would house demonstration facilities.
DOE would also report to Congress on another mission focusing on a versatile neutron source, including fast neutron spectrum irradiation capability. That is another potential mission for INL researchers.
“This legislation represents an opportunity to build upon the capabilities of the INL while sending a very important message to the private industry,” said Crapo. “That message is this:Â American entrepreneurs and investors should continue to invest in advanced nuclear technology and they should do it in the United States instead of going overseas.”
Crapo said he hoped it would encourage entrepreneurs to invest in technology that would drive innovation in an otherwise stagnant industry.
Crapo’s bill is co-sponsored by Idaho Senator Jim Risch and democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
The concept is also a spin-off of President Obama’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative. GAIN was created to resolve technical, cost, safety, proliferation resistance, and security barriers in advanced nuclear technologies as a clean-energy alternative.
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