The US Department of Energy (DOE) is set to provide more than $61m in funding for 99 advanced nuclear energy technology projects across the country.
The funding will be offered for projects focusing on nuclear energy research, cross-discipline technology development and nuclear reactor infrastructure.
This move is intended to strengthen the resiliency and use of America’s largest domestic source of carbon-free energy.
It will also support the Biden-Harris administration’s goals of generating fully clean electricity by 2035 and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The majority of the funding will be provided to US universities, which will receive $58m of financial support.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said: “Nuclear power is critical to America’s clean energy future and we are committed to making it a more accessible, affordable and resilient energy solution for communities across the country.
“At the DOE, we’re not only investing in the country’s current nuclear fleet, but we’re also investing in the scientists and engineers who are developing and deploying the next generation of advanced nuclear technologies.
“[These technologies] will slash the amount of carbon pollution, create good-paying energy jobs and realise our carbon-free goals.”
Awards are managed through DOE’s nuclear energy programmes, which include the Nuclear Energy University Programme (NEUP), Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) and Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF).
Through the NEUP awards, 69 university-led projects across 27 states will receive $48.8m of funding for developing innovative solutions that will further improve the country’s nuclear energy capabilities.
A total of $5.9m will be offered to 24 university-led projects for research on improving nuclear reactor infrastructure and to provide crucial safety and performance upgrades for a portion of the country’s 25 university research reactors.
In April, the DOE announced loans of up to $8.25bn to support projects for expanding and improving the country’s electricity grid.
The loans will be made available from the DOE’s Loan Programmes Office (LPO), which will offer loan guarantees of up to $5bn, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA).
