The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory will receive $150 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to support infrastructure improvement projects at its Advanced Test Reactor and Materials Fuels Complex.
DOE said Tuesday the investment aims to speed up the replacement of aging systems at ATR and MFC and support research and development efforts to advance nuclear fuels and reactor technologies.
The upgrades at the two facilities will include improvements to process control systems and water and electricity distribution systems.
“More than 300 commercial reactors operating around the world today can trace their roots back to Idaho National Laboratory, and these infrastructure investments allow America to continue leading the world in groundbreaking nuclear energy research and development,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The Inflation Reduction Act has allocated more than $35 billion for DOE to fund new and existing programs and included $150 million to boost R&D infrastructure at the Office of Nuclear Energy.
“Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, DOE is taking critical steps to strengthen domestic nuclear development and deployment—helping ensure the United States is on track to reach a clean energy future,” Granholm said.