Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Corridor
Lead Agency: Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium
States Served: Idaho, Wyoming
Applicant-Defined Region: Idaho Falls and Pocatello MSAs, Blackfoot μSA, Fort Hall Indian Reservation (Idaho); Laramie and Rock Springs μSAs
Core Technology Area: nuclear small modular reactors and microreactors
Contact: Kirt Marlow ([email protected])
Media Contact: Susie Barna ([email protected]) and Jeremy Johnson ([email protected])
Organizational Link: https://idahoadvancedenergy.org/intermountain-west-nuclear-energy-corridor-inec/
The Intermountain-west Nuclear Energy Corridor (INEC) Tech Hub, led by the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium, aims to position Idaho and Wyoming as a global leader in small modular reactors (SMR) and advanced nuclear energy to contribute to a cleaner energy future. This Tech Hub will build on Idaho and Wyoming’s regional nuclear manufacturing and service sectors to capture an increasing share of the global SMR market. By developing co-location collaboration hubs, incubators and testbeds for nuclear start-ups, and nuclear industry workforce development programs, the INEC Tech Hub will leverage regional resources and talent to strengthen nuclear reactor development and production.
This Tech Hub seeks to enhance U.S. competitiveness and energy security by accelerating the reactor deployment timeline to enable the commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors within the next decade.
The consortium’s proposal includes plans to:
- Establish a center to create a favorable policy and regulatory framework for nuclear energy in the region;
- Support the creation of domestic nuclear fuel-fabrication capabilities and build a portfolio of sites to attract future commercial deployments within the region, including on Tribal land;
- Conduct a commercialization demonstration project to recover residual uranium from waste uranium rockpiles;
- Take proactive steps to enhance the supplier ecosystem and grow the sector’s workforce; and
- Establish a governance system that incorporates feedback from an Advisory Council composed of key stakeholders from Wyoming, Idaho, and Tribal communities to direct policy, procedure, and long-term planning for the consortium.
To ensure that the impacts of the Tech Hub projects benefit the entire region, the consortia is committed to implementing an equity-focused framework that creates a pathway for local and underrepresented small businesses as part of supply chain upskilling.
This summary is based on information submitted by the applicants.
Strategy Development Grant Amount: $464,880
Designee Narrative (PDF) (submitted by the designee in its Phase 2 application package)