Category: News

Future of mining is microreactors: Idaho National Laboratory sees big benefits

Powering a remote zinc mine located roughly 600 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, is a Herculean task. Governments and industry have taken a particular interest in remote arctic mining locations, not only because of the region’s vast mineral resources, but also because of shipping routes that are opening through the ice due to climate change. Still, getting energy to those

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Hold on! Did you know that microreactors were field deployed over 60 years ago?

Microreactors hold promise for the future of nuclear power, but they are also part of our past. There is a growing interest in alternatives to carbon-based power sources, particularly in remote locations where fuel is expensive, and supplies are difficult to secure throughout the year. An Idaho National Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy Microreactor Program report noted there are around

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Mobile supercomputer of the future: INL researchers explore connecting data centers to microgrids, microreactors

Roughly 30,000 data centers dot the landscape in the United States and Europe.   These computer facilities serve functions as varied as modeling and simulation, cloud-based applications, artificial intelligence and weather forecasting. They are the brains of search engines and social media platforms, and they help engineers design the automobiles and airplanes of the future. In short, data centers form the

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Idaho Falls Mayor deems February 23 Harold McFarlane Day

PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, Harold McFarlane has served his community, state and nation admirably for more than four decades; and WHEREAS, Feb. 21-27 is National Engineers Week, which is the perfect time to honor a citizen who has distinguished himself and can serve as an example to Idaho’s youth about the importance of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; and

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Idaho National Laboratory