U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration awards INEC $500,000 grant

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Intermountain-west Nuclear Energy Corridor Tech Hub Awarded $500,000 to help deploy advanced nuclear reactors and solidify economic growth in the region

The Intermountain-west Nuclear Energy Corridor (INEC) Tech Hub was awarded a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award from the Biden-Harris administration through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. INEC will use this funding to implement its tech hub strategy focused on advanced nuclear reactor deployments, including technology advancements, workforce and supply chain development, and fuel support for the domestic nuclear industry. The funding was announced Monday, which comes after INEC was surpassed for EDA’s Phase 2 funding opportunity, earlier this month. The award highlights the INEC Tech Hub’s continued role in strengthening U.S. economic and national security as the only advanced nuclear tech hub.

“These funds will be a great benefit as INEC continues to attract partners, investments and technology developers from across the globe to support the future of clean energy in the region,” says Kirt Marlow, executive director of the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium. “This is the epicenter of America’s advanced energy transition and will continue to have significant economic benefits.” INEC, through the Tech Hubs Program’s Consortium Accelerator Award, will continue to help develop a globally competitive regional industry in small modular and micro nuclear reactor deployments.

“The Biden-Harris administration is working to build world-class ecosystems across the nation that will advance America’s global leadership in technologies of the future, create good jobs and strengthen U.S. national and economic security,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “These Consortium Accelerator Awards demonstrate the level of excellence every designee embodies and will enable tech hubs to not only keep up their momentum, but also leverage their coveted designation to attract additional collaboration and capital.”

INEC and its partners in industry, education, and local, state and tribal governments are creating the foundation for a sustainable nuclear technologies ecosystem through projects in four key areas. The INEC projects focus on impacts in workforce development and training, business development, and technology development and maturation by addressing policy barriers; supporting the commercialization of advanced reactors; addressing constraints within the nuclear fuel cycle; and developing the supply chain needed to develop clean energy.

The Tech Hubs Program is a flagship initiative of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda, supporting regional efforts to scale up the production of critical technologies, such as semiconductors, quantum computing, autonomous systems, biotechnology, clean energy, critical minerals, innovative materials and advanced manufacturing. To learn more about the Intermountain-west Nuclear Energy Corridor Tech Hub, visit https://idahoadvancedenergy.org/

CONTACTS:

Jeremy Johnson: Media Relations- Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium
208.406.3191 |  [email protected] 

Susie Barna: Project Coordinator- Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium
208.821.4844 |  [email protected]