Half-a-million grant awarded to intermountain tech hub

A grant to help deploy advanced nuclear reactors and solidify economic growth was recently awarded to a tech hub focused on nuclear energy.

The Intermountain-west Nuclear Energy Corridor , or INEC, Tech Hub was funded with a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

INEC stated it will use the 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.”

Kirt Marlow, executive director of the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium, said the funds will benefit INEC greatly as it “continues to attract partners, investments and technology developers from across the globe to support the future of clean energy in the region.

“This is the epicenter of America’s advanced energy transition and will continue to have significant economic benefits,” he said.

Alejandra Y. Castillo, the assistant secretary of commerce for the Economic Development Administration, said the awards will enable tech hubs to keep moving forward and use their designation attract more collaboration and funding.

In a release, INEC stated it is working with its partners in industry, education and at state, local and tribal governments to create the basis for a sustainable nuclear technologies ecosystem, which focuses on four areas, which are “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.”

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