DOE - Office of Nuclear Energy

The Department of Energy (DOE) supports
nuclear science and technology through one of the world’s most comprehensive research infrastructures:
Idaho National Laboratory.

The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) has the overall duty to ensure Idaho National Laboratory (INL) can fulfill its assigned missions. Through its Idaho Facilities Management and Idaho Site-Wide Safeguards & Security programs, NE provides the funding and oversight needed not only to maintain Idaho facilities and infrastructure as viable research assets, but also to ensure their safety, security, and environmental compliance.
INL combines the expertise of government, industry, and academia in a single laboratory under the leadership of Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), a team comprised of Battelle Memorial Institute, Washington Group International, BWXT Services, Inc., the Electric Power Research Institute, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. BEA manages the laboratory under a Management and Operating contract. This contract requires:

The Idaho Operations Office oversees these contract activities in accordance with DOE directives, including the DOE Order for Real Property Asset Management (RPAM), 430.1B, and the DOE Order for Oversight Policy Implementation, 226.1. The ongoing effort needed to maintain federal facilities and infrastructure at the INL Site is reflected in a ten-year site plan approved by NE as required by the RPAM Order. This plan serves as the basis for developing annual budget requests.

The INL infrastructure is not only used by NE to develop advanced fuel cycle and reactor technologies, and space power systems, but also by the National Nuclear Security Administration, and other DOE offices, together with other Federal agencies such as the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, to meet an array of strategic energy, environmental, and national security goals.

The INL includes an 889-square-mile high desert site with two main on-site technology areas: the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC). A third technology area, the Science and Technology Campus (STC), is located in the City of Idaho Falls and has several laboratories and facilities that support basic and applied research and development activities. These three technology areas provide many assets for national use, including research reactors, hot cells, analytical laboratories, processing facilities, and information technology infrastructure. How these assets can contribute to the long-term energy security of the Nation through nuclear research and development is discussed in the INL Strategic Plan.

INL real property assets include 298 buildings, associated support structures, a full complement of utilities, including communication and data transmission systems, approximately 800 miles of improved and unimproved roads, 61 miles of electrical transmission lines, and 14 miles of railroad lines. These systems connect and serve the primary technology complexes, and, therefore, represent a critical investment in sustaining INL’s research capabilities.

MFC is important to supporting National Energy Policy goals. Its facilities are required for advanced nuclear energy technology research and development and other initiatives. Maintaining mission-essential infrastructure at MFC requires: safely and securely managing special nuclear materials; responsibly managing and disposing of legacy materials generated by past DOE nuclear energy activities; and deactivating unneeded facilities. This infrastructure supports nuclear energy, defense, and environmental management programs, including NE's Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) and Radioisotope Power Systems. Major MFC facilities include:

EBR-II has been permanently deactivated and placed in a radiologically and industrially safe condition under a long-term surveillance and maintenance program pending ultimate disposal. Even so, it remains a treatment and storage facility that is permitted with the State of Idaho under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and currently is used for activities to support fuel treatment as well as safeguards and security analysis.

The RTC features the world’s largest and most powerful test reactor:
the Advanced Test Reactor

A key user of ATR and ATRC is the Office of the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors within the Department's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

ATR is vital to the national strategic objective of
“providing the U.S. Navy with safe, militarily effective
nuclear propulsion plants and ensuring
their continued safe and reliable operation.”

A 250-megawatt reactor, ATR conducts virtually all irradiation testing of Navy reactor fuels. The ATRC is used to verify core loading with new experiments that will be placed in ATR.

ATR was designated as a National Science User Facility in April 2007. Transition of ATR into this role is underway and will continue though 2008. As a user facility, ATR will be available to researchers from universities and industry for conducting in-core experiments vital to nuclear energy technology and materials development. For more information on this topic click here.

As a National Science User Facility, ATR will help
INL become a cornerstone of nuclear energy R&D
conducted by universities, industry, international organizations, and other laboratories, with the overall goal of enhancing U.S. energy security.

The STC is the collective name for INL’s administrative, technical support and computer facilities in Idaho Falls, as well as the in-town laboratories where researchers work on a wide variety of advanced scientific research and development projects that support nuclear research, national security programs, and a wide range of research for other disciplines.

An important resident program at STC is the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES). CAES creates a unique and collaborative environment for addressing the nation’s energy future, including cross-organizational and peer-to-peer technical collaboration. Its goal is to address science, engineering and technology development critical to U.S. and global energy needs. CAES research will focus on energy affordability, environmental safety, and technology research in nuclear, hydrogen, fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), plus the full spectrum of renewable energy sources.

INL also has the Experimental Breeder Reactor - I, which was first operated in 1951 and decommissioned in 1964. It is now a Registered National Historic Landmark, and is open to the public at certain times of the year. Information about that facility and tour arrangements can be found here.