INL Foundation

Upcoming Events NSUF Users' Annual Meeting The NSUF Annual Users’ Meeting will be Thursday, March 27, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PT at the MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel in Room 152. The meeting will be co-located with The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society 2025 Annual Meeting and Exhibition. The event will also feature virtual attendance. Existing and future users are invited to attend this hybrid event to learn about upcoming NSUF program developments and scientific endeavors enabled by NSUF and shared from the user perspective. Learn more and register to attend 2025 Annual Program Review NSUF will be hosting its 2025 Annual Program Review April 14-17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. MDT/11 a.m.- 5 p.m. EST at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho and Microsoft Teams. The NSUF program review will feature comprehensive overview presentations by the NSUF program office, technical highlights from NSUF-supported user access projects, and insights from NSUF stakeholders, including the user community. Register by Monday, March 31 to attend in person or online.  Register to attend About NSUF The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program is a consortium of national laboratory, university and industry partner facilities. NSUF merges nuclear energy research infrastructure with intellectual capital to pair nuclear fuels and materials researchers with cutting-edge resources to better understand how radiation affects existing and proposed reactor materials, fuels and sensor technologies. Through peer-reviewed competitive processes, NSUF users are provided no-cost access to world-class nuclear energy research facilities and assistance with experiment design from experienced scientists and engineers to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced nuclear technology applications. To learn more about NSUF, please visit our website at nsuf.inl.gov

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS: Sarah Neumann, 208-526-0490, sarah.neumann@inl.gov Joel Hiller, 801-597-6030, joel.hiller@inl.gov  Idaho National Laboratory seeks sponsor for innovation incubator to support technology commercialization (IDAHO FALLS, Idaho) – The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is seeking an industry sponsor to invest $5 million to $10 million in a privately funded innovation incubator. This program will combine the power of a national laboratory with private sector commercialization knowledge to unleash breakthrough innovations by finding and supporting promising startups in the areas of nuclear energy, integrated energy systems, cybersecurity and advanced materials. The innovation incubator seeks to provide seed-stage startups aligned with the private sector sponsor’s strategic investment priorities with access to INL’s world-class facilities and technical expertise, which can de-risk and advance their innovations. INL and the private sector sponsor will jointly issue nationwide calls for entrepreneurs and startups to identify American technologies and talent. This effort will develop and narrow into a small cohort of top candidates who will be selected for investment. The incubator provides the private sector sponsor with direct access to a pipeline of innovation at a fraction of the cost of conventional acquisition. Sponsor benefits include: Pipeline to innovation: The incubator delivers a turnkey source of cutting-edge American innovation in the private sector sponsor’s areas of strategic interest, providing valuable new growth opportunities. Technology de-risking: National laboratory scientists and laboratory capabilities that provide unparalleled technical due diligence for identified opportunities and subsequent acceleration of technology advancement, resulting in opportunities that are substantially de-risked. Publicity for advancing American innovation: Partnering with INL adds credibility, goodwill and visibility to the private sector sponsor’s investments, demonstrating viable leadership in technical innovation. Interested industry sponsors can contact Jim.Keating@inl.gov for more information. 

$900 Million Available to Unlock Commercial Deployment of American-Made Small Modular Reactors $900 million solicitation to support the deployment of small modular reactors will help grow the supply of affordable and abundant energy for Americans. Office of Nuclear Energy March 24, 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today re-issued a $900 million solicitation to support the deployment of small modular reactors to better align with President Trump's bold agenda to unleash American energy and AI dominance.  “America’s nuclear energy renaissance starts now,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Abundant and affordable energy is key to our nation’s economic prosperity and security. This solicitation is a call to action for early movers seeking to put more energy on the grid through the deployment of advanced light-water small modular reactors.” U.S. electricity demand is forecast to soar in the coming years driven by consumer needs, data center growth, increased AI use, and the industrial sector’s need for constant power. Small modular reactors could provide reliable power for these energy-intensive sectors, with the added benefit of flexible deployment thanks to their compact size and modular design. Light-water small modular reactors could also leverage the existing service and supply chain supporting the country’s current fleet of light-water reactors, helping speed up the near-term deployment of new nuclear reactors. DOE is offering funding to de-risk the deployment of Generation III+ light-water small modular reactors (Gen III+ SMR) through two tiers: Tier 1: First Mover Team Support will provide up to $800M to support up to two first mover teams of utility, reactor vendor, constructor, and end-users/off-takers committed to deploying a first plant while facilitating a multi-reactor, Gen III+ SMR orderbook and the opportunity to work with the National Nuclear Security Administration to incorporate safeguards and security by design into the projects. Tier 2: Fast Follower Deployment Support will provide approximately $100M to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry in areas such as design, licensing, supply chain, and site preparation. The selection of awardees will be solely based on technical merit. Applications are due on April 23, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Previous applicants who applied to the 2024 solicitation must resubmit their proposals following the new guidance to receive consideration. New applications are also welcome. For more information, visit the Gen III+ SMR webpage: https://lnkd.in/d4Zg9sT9

Congratulations : Idaho National Laboratory (INL) successfully demonstrated an efficient way to produce fuel for the world’s first fast-spectrum, salt-fueled reactor test. The process will help expedite the production of fuel needed to turn on the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE), which will allow researchers to advance an unexplored class of reactors.    In 2020, INL researchers began designing a fuel salt synthesis line, which is the process used to create molten chloride fuel salt.  The team needed to make 18 kilograms of fuel salt at a time while converting 90% of uranium metal feedstock into uranium chloride fuel salt – an amount that had never been reached before. At first, the team was only able to convert up to 80% of uranium metal and produce 10 kilograms of fuel salt per batch. They hit a turning point last summer after developing a new step to improve uranium utilization, resulting in the conversion of 95% of uranium metal and the production of 18 kilograms of fuel salt. However, it took roughly 200 hours, which is not a sustainable production rate.  Now they can sustainably produce 18 kilograms of fuel salt in 8 hours and will soon have the time down to 5 hours.  “After years of experimentation and revision, we finally found the right process to reach the perfect yield,” said INL MCRE Project Director Nick Smith. “It takes a special kind of perseverance to keep working the problem when there is no guarantee that you will find a solution.” MCRE is scheduled to run in the 2030s for approximately six months at INL in the Laboratory for Operation and Testing in the United States (LOTUS) test bed prior to being decommissioned.  Results from MCRE will help inform the commercial deployment of TerraPower and Southern Company’s Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) that could be deployed in the 2030s. The reactor experiment will also help demonstrate fuel handling techniques for liquid fuel and develop the supply chain for molten salt reactor components.  The MCFR design uses liquid salt as the fuel and coolant, allowing for higher operating temperatures to produce heat or electricity more efficiently than today’s reactors.  INL is currently installing the fuel salt synthesis line, which is on track to be completed this spring. A full-scale demonstration will then be held to produce 5 batches of highly enriched uranium fuel salt before the end of 2025.   The lab will then ramp up fuel salt production to produce the remaining batches in 2026.    MCRE will require a total of 72-75 batches of fuel salt to go critical, making it the largest fuel production effort at INL since the operations of Experimental Breeder Reactor-II more than 30 years ago.  MCRE is one of several advanced reactor projects supported by the U.S. Department of Energy to unleash more affordable, reliable, and secure American energy in the United States

You can read more about the Small Business Clean Energy opportunity here: https://lnkd.in/e6nJwmCC

Small Businesses! If you have a clean energy idea, DOE has money available to you. The INL Foundation can help you with the process, particularly, if you get a Phase II award we can help link you up to use the INL National Lab capabilities for the R&D. See below: Jan. 2, 2025 Funding Notice: New Funding Available to Small Businesses for Clean Energy Research and Development The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) opened new funding to small businesses for innovative clean energy technologies as part of its Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. SBIR and STTR are competitive funding opportunities that encourage U.S.-based small businesses to engage in research and development to accelerate the commercialization of innovative technologies.  NOFO NUMBER: DE-FOA-0003504 AWARD AMOUNT: $1 million each LETTERS OF INTENT DUE: 1/14/2025 by 5 p.m. ET WEBINARS: 1/2/2025 and 1/3/2025 at 2 p.m. ET Through SBIR and STTR, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has enabled thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs to develop cutting-edge technologies required to accelerate our transition to a clean energy future. SBIR/STTR provides funding in two phases: Small businesses can receive up to $200,000 in Phase I to prove the feasibility of an idea; successful awardees can then receive up to $1 million in Phase II for further development including prototyping, validation, and testing. Mandatory letters of intent for this funding opportunity are due Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 by 5 p.m. ET. Register for informational webinars that will be held on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at 2 p.m. ET and Friday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. ET. Slides will be posted after each webinar. Please review the funding opportunity for more information. The funding opportunity covers all EERE technology areas, including: Advanced materials and manufacturing Bioenergy Buildings Geothermal energy Hydrogen Industrial decarbonization Solar energy Vehicles Water power Wind energy

https://lnkd.in/gc577ffF.

We are excited about the launch of the new INL Foundation https://lnkd.in/gc577ffF.

Another article on the start of the INL Foundation: https://lnkd.in/g2wqrYVS

Recent News article on the Foundation launch: https://lnkd.in/gkVSb99s