IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), the managing and operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) from industry stakeholders interested in forming a partnership to develop or demonstrate advanced construction technologies and processes that would be transformative in nuclear energy system project economics and schedule success. The EOI notice can be found online here and responses are due May 16, 2020.
This effort will be executed as an initiative of the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), which enables advanced reactor demonstration and deployment. Authorized by Congress in 2018 and established by DOE in 2019, NRIC is led by INL in coordination with other national laboratories.
“Construction costs and schedule risks are predominant factors driving up the costs of new nuclear energy systems,” said Dr. Ashley Finan, NRIC director. “The NRIC advanced construction technologies initiative will support a transformation in nuclear energy construction and deployment costs and scalability, enabling nuclear energy to make important contributions to the energy system of the future.”
The scope of the partnership could include, but not be limited to, the development or demonstration of advanced construction technologies and processes that would substantially reduce the cost and schedule risk of new nuclear plant construction, as well as long-term economics of nuclear deployment on a global scale. Interested parties who respond with information that demonstrates experience and capability relative to the attributes listed in the EOI notice may be considered for a future request for proposal (RFP). The EOI notice is used solely for information capture and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation.
