Feature Articles

Eleven governors and their state energy offices are putting out ready-for-business signs to advanced nuclear energy developers under an initiative that taps into experts at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

While Joy Morin was an undergraduate intern at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), she discovered her interest in developing nuclear fuels and technology. Her mentor recommended she pursue a graduate degree at Boise State University in materials and engineering to continue her research.

To meet energy demands and reestablish the nation’s energy dominance, U.S. companies are developing several types of advanced reactors.

One type of advanced reactor, a molten salt reactor, uses fuels dissolved in molten salt coolants instead of the solid fuels used in traditional nuclear reactors. These reactors feature enhanced safety features and high temperatures, which will offer utilities more flexibility in the form of efficient heat and electricity.

Hydropower is a reliable source of energy. However, the inconsistent nature of water flows and electricity demand often challenges hydropower operators and reduces revenue.

Data centers are one of the fastest growing areas of America’s technology sector. These massive warehouses of servers make some of today’s most important technical achievements possible, such as the expanding use of artificial intelligence applications and cryptocurrency mining. Because they use a great deal of energy, they emit a substantial amount of waste heat. But rather than let the heat – well, go to waste – what if we could use it to create new revenue streams for businesses?

Everyday life depends on a robust infrastructure network that provides access to running water, communications technology and electricity, among other basic necessities. The experts who keep our national infrastructure secure and resilient also need a strong network to share their knowledge and train the next generation of professionals capable of solving complex infrastructure challenges. This means finding ways to bring government, academia and the private sector together. One way is through sabbaticals that temporarily place professors in our national labs.

A cutting-edge project to test “fusion blanket” technologies is taking shape, with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) leading the charge to create a critical component of a fusion reactor.

After five years of trying to find the right ingredients, scientists at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) believe they have created the perfect recipe to fuel the world’s first critical fast-spectrum molten salt reactor.

Seventy-five years ago, the sweeping landscape of the Idaho desert over the Snake River Aquifer was a land of sagebrush, brown grass and lava rock. Today, the desert site facilities of Idaho National Laboratory are still home to sagebrush, brown grass and lava rock but also to of some of the world’s most cutting-edge nuclear fuel research and reactor prototype development.

There’s a reason that electric vehicles (EV) in salvage yards are kept by themselves and spaced far apart. Their lithium-ion batteries can hold a lot of energy, and if one catches fire, it’s sometimes hard for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.