11 Accomplishments by the Trump Administration in Advanced Nuclear Energy

Dr. Rita Baranwal is the first woman to lead the Office of Nuclear Energy and takes over a $1.3 billion portfolio to promote the research and development of current and advanced nuclear technologies.

Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle are the first new nuclear reactors to begin construction in the United States in more than 3 decades. The expansion project is supported by our Loan Programs Office and will create 800 permanent jobs when the facility begins operation in 2021.

The nation’s first small modular reactor (SMR) is on track to be operating at Idaho National Laboratory by 2026. DOE is supporting the siting of a 12-module SMR plant.

Led by Idaho National Laboratory, the National Reactor Innovation Center provides a platform for private sector technology developers to assess the performance of their reactor concepts through testing and demonstration.

DOE has invested more than $170 million over the last 2 years to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear reactor technologies. This includes supporting industry efforts to design and submit a NRC license application for a new TRISO fuel fabrication facility.

DOE is currently working with the Department of Defense to demonstrate and deploy microreactors as early as 2023. DOE is also supporting a variety of advanced microreactor designs, including gas and heat pipe-cooled reactors, which are currently being pursued by American developers.

DOE recently launched the Molten Salts in Extreme Environments (MSEE) center. MSEE will study the physical properties of molten salts and how they affect the materials in which they come in contact.

DOE is moving forward with plans to build a Versatile Test Reactor. This test reactor will use high energy neutrons to speed up the testing of advanced technologies needed by new designs and our existing fleet.

After spending more than two decades in standby mode, the Administration brought the Transient Reactor Test Facility at Idaho National Laboratory back online in 2017. TREAT allows scientists to examine fuel performance under simulated accident conditions.

To help industry develop their designs, we are looking into multiple options to provide small amounts of high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for testing and demonstration of these technologies.

DOE announced the launch of the NICE Future initiative at the 9th Clean Energy Ministerial in 2018. NICE Future is a global effort led by the United States, Canada, and Japan that will ensure nuclear energy receives appropriate representation in high-level discussions about clean energy.