The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and the National Reactor Innovation Center have selected the first group of developers for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, an initiative to advance nuclear technologies toward commercial deployment.
Who Are the Initial Participants?
DOE said four entities were competitively selected from applicants who were previously involved in the Reactor Pilot Program and the Fuel Line Pilot Program. The selected participants are Deployable Energy, General Matter, NuCube Energy in partnership with Idaho State University and Radiant Nuclear.
What Is the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad?
The Energy Department has launched the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad to accelerate advanced nuclear development, building on its Reactor Pilot and Fuel Line Pilot programs to support commercialization. The Launch Pad replaces those pilot programs, which are no longer accepting applications. It establishes two tracks: one for projects at Idaho National Laboratory and another for projects across the U.S. with access to regulatory and technical resources.
NRIC Director Brad Tomer said the initiative expands beyond reactor and fuel technologies to welcome a broader range of nuclear applications, offering more pathways and flexibility for developers to move projects toward deployment.
DOE Expands Nuclear Fuel Recycling Efforts
As part of broader efforts to support advanced reactors, the Office of Nuclear Energy issued requests for applications in April seeking proposals to design, build and operate nuclear fuel recycling and fabrication facilities to strengthen material handling and support advanced reactor deployment.
