Celebrating Idaho's leadership in new nuclear era

The recent successful nuclear reactor demonstrations reinforce Idaho National Laboratory’s leadership in a new and exciting era of nuclear energy. In this new nuclear age, nuclear energy is an important, reliable power source to fuel America’s innovation and growth, as cleanup remains central to the state and future of nuclear energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently celebrated a fourth advanced nuclear reactor reaching criticality as part of the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. INL brought a remarkable three of the four demonstration reactors to criticality and contributed expertise in support of the fourth reactor’s success. DOE explains, “Criticality is the point at which a nuclear reactor achieves a self-sustaining chain reaction. In other words, it’s when the atoms splitting in the reactor core produce enough neutrons to sustain subsequent reactions. This state is fundamental to reactor operation and safety.”

Last year, President Trump effectively issued a challenge in the form of Executive Orders streamlining national laboratory processes and calling for the Reactor Pilot Program to bring three test reactors to criticality by July 4, 2026.

The scientists, engineers, technicians, leaders and other highly skilled personnel at INL embraced and exceeded the challenge. They worked around the clock to safely achieve criticality in a relatively short amount of time. I celebrate the hard work of the teams who made this achievement attainable, as I congratulate them. They have proven a viable path to commercialization of this important part of America’s energy future.

Governor Brad Little emphasized the magnitude of this milestone when he said, “For the first time in more than 50 years, new reactors have successfully started at our nation’s nuclear energy research laboratory.” Notably, one of the reactors was developed in less than six months, further demonstrating Idaho’s expertise in advanced reactors.

I recognized this preeminent role for INL when I worked with INL, fellow members of the Idaho Congressional Delegation, Senators representing other states with nuclear power resources and President Trump to enact nuclear regulatory reform legislation in recent years. These laws are paving the way for nuclear innovation accelerated by the Trump Administration.

This includes the 2018 enactment of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) I led with fellow Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island).  Among its provisions, NEICA authorized the creation of the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), housed at INL. NRIC supported all of the four reactor developers coordinating INL’s technical expertise, facility access, fuel storage and handling and regulatory guidance.

It also includes the 2019 enactment of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Modernization Act (NEIMA) I championed with fellow U.S. Senator for Idaho Jim Risch and others. NEIMA improved the pathway from concept to commercialization for these advanced nuclear technologies tested and developed at INL.

The 2024 enactment of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act followed these reforms and further modernized the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process, reforms important to the ultimate commercial deployment of these reactor concepts.

Additionally, the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s awarding of approximately $31 million to the Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Corridor Tech Hub, led by the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium, will further position the Idaho and Wyoming nuclear energy innovation corridor as a global leader in advanced small modular reactors. It will help attract and create the companies needed to support the corridor’s development, contributing to the deployment and commercialization of next-generation nuclear reactors.

Congratulations to the many public and private partners whose collaboration has helped make these achievements possible. They have helped reinforce Idaho’s and our nation’s technological leadership in nuclear energy, while reducing reliance on foreign adversaries for critical energy capabilities.

Mike Crapo represents the state of Idaho in the U.S. Senate. He can be reached at crapo.senate.gov.