DOE invests $20 million in advanced nuclear reactor funding
A new program known as Modeling-Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear Energy Reinvigoration (MEITNER) has been allotted $20 million by the Department of Energy (DOE) to seek out designs for cheaper, safer nuclear reactors.
Presently, while nuclear power comprises almost 20 percent of U.S. electricity, the designs of its reactors are dated, and that age reflects in high operational and maintenance costs. MEITNER, however, is built on the concept that the design, technology and manufacturing capabilities for more advanced reactor designs are out there–they simply must be found. The effort is part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program.
“When ARPA-E examined the challenges facing nuclear energy, we found an important opportunity to support the advanced reactor design community with early-stage technologies that could enable the development of safer and less expensive plants,” ARPA-E Acting Director Eric Rohlfing said. “MEITNER projects are developing technologies that will accelerate fabrication and testing, making construction cheaper, while integrating high levels of automation and built-in safety measures across the plant to reduce operational costs.”
In the search, MEITNER will look to collaborations across a variety of sectors, organizations and scientific pursuits. It is based on the principle that collaboration will be the key to evolving the technology, as opposed to individual focuses on one area of it.
