Idaho-Wyoming nuclear industry partnership receives $31M federal award
LAURA GUIDO / Idaho Capital Sun | Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 3 weeks, 3 days AGO
Commercial nuclear fuel rods are unloaded from a cask inside Idaho National Laboratory's Hot Fuel Examination Facility hot cell in this file photo. A consortium of industry leaders, including Idaho National Laboratory, received $31 million from the federal government Monday to advance nuclear energy. (Courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory)
The federal government awarded a coalition that includes nuclear industry stakeholders in Idaho and Wyoming around $31 million to facilitate the growth of nuclear energy.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration on Monday announced the award to the Intermountain-West Energy Corridor Tech Hub, a regional initiative led by the nonprofit Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium.
The tech hub is one of 31 designated under the federal CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The hubs are meant to represent regions with “demonstrated expertise in emergent technology sectors,” according to the U.S. Economic Development Administration, or EDA. The Idaho-Wyoming initiative is the only one focused on nuclear energy.
The $31 million for Idaho and Wyoming’s coalition will go toward:
• Supporting advanced nuclear fuel fabrication, testing and transportation
• Training workers in nuclear construction, manufacturing and fuel fabrication
• Support for those entering the nuclear supply chain
The Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium separately announced that, with matching contributions from partners, the organization will bring in more than $40 million for the Idaho-Wyoming region.
“The Tech Hub designation and funding award reflects the strength of our entire IAEC membership,” Christi Gilchrist, executive director of the consortium, said in a press release. “Our universities, community colleges, private companies, utilities, manufacturers, national laboratory, and community partners are all essential to this work.”
Idaho congressmen say they supported Idaho’s application for tech hub funding.
Three of Idaho’s four congressional delegation members lauded the award in a press release Monday — U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and Rep. Mike Simpson. All four members of the delegation voted against the 2022 CHIPS legislation that created the tech hubs.
The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act made $220 million available to tech hubs. Crapo, Risch and Simpson said in the press release they supported the Idaho coalition’s application for this funding.
“The future of American nuclear energy is being developed in Idaho,” Risch said in the press release. “Today’s investment by the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Consortium Tech Hub capitalizes on Idaho’s deep nuclear history and will expand opportunities for the West to maintain this strong reputation.”
Crapo said the regional tech hub “will build on Idaho’s unmatched expertise and innovation in small modular reactors and reinforce our nation’s technological leadership while reducing reliance on foreign adversaries for critical energy capabilities.”
The intermountain regional tech hub comprises more than 45 organizations across Idaho and Wyoming, including Idaho National Laboratory, Deloitte, Idaho Power, Idaho city governments, Idaho colleges and universities, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The federal administration announced Monday that six tech hubs would receive awards totaling $169 million to “advance U.S. leadership in industries essential to our economic competitiveness and national security,” according to an EDA press release.