Energy Department to Invest in Advanced Reactor Concept Development

Furthering efforts to encourage clean energy innovation, the Energy Department released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to support the research, development, and demonstration of advanced reactor concepts. The announcement represents an early step in increasing investment in nuclear advanced reactor technologies, which have the potential to provide substantially enhanced operational performance, safety, security, economics, and proliferation resistance.

“We have been encouraged by recent interest in advanced reactor technology,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy John Kotek. “We believe this funding opportunity will foster scientific innovation to advance the goals of the Department in developing clean energy technologies.”

Through this competition, the Energy Department seeks to foster collaboration with industry and the national laboratories, in support of advanced reactor concepts that would provide clean, affordable, and secure energy. The Department is soliciting proposals for cost-shared advanced reactor concept development projects with the potential to be demonstrated in the 2035 timeframe.

The Energy Department will partner with industry to fund up to two awards of approximately $6.0 million each in FY 2015. The Energy Department will invest up to $3.6 million in each project, with a federally funded research and development center  providing up to an additional $2.4 million. Recipients will be required to invest $1.5 million as part of the cost share. The funding opportunity allows for multiple-year funding for up to two awards with a total of $40 million in DOE cost share per award.

The FOA is available at Fedconnect under reference number DE-FOA-0001313.

Letters of intent are due no later than August 31, 2015. The application due date is October 5, 2015.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy