Last week, Congress passed a $900B omnibus spending bill, which contains, most importantly, relief measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also various authorizations and appropriations for FY2021, including $1.5 billion for fission and fusion energy programs. Title II of the Energy Act of 2020 (located at “Division Z” of the spending bill) features a variety of programs to support U.S. innovation in fission and fusion.
Below are some of the major provisions relevant to nuclear fission and fusion:
- Fusion Energy Research (Sec. 2008): The legislation provides a total authorization of $996M in FY2021 for Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a research and technology development program aimed at building the scientific and engineering capabilities and knowledge necessary to build a cost competitive fusion power plant and fusion industry in the United States.
The legislation also authorizes $50M in FY2021 to support R&D partnerships with universities, the National Labs, and others related to developing alternative and enabling fusion energy concepts, including:
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- Advanced stellarator concepts
- Non-tokamak confinement configurations operating at low magnetic fields
- Magnetized target fusion energy concepts
- High magnetic field approaches facilitated by high temperature super-conductors
- Liquid metals to address issues associated with fusion plasma interactions with the inner wall of the encasing device
- Advanced blankets for heat management and fuel breeding
- Advanced scientific computing activities
In addition, the bill reauthorizes the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program with $50M per year for FY2021-2025. There is also support for R&D for the development of inertial fusion (e.g. ion beam, laser, and pulsed power fusion systems), with $25M allotted in FY2021 out of the total authorization.
ITER Reauthorization: The legislation reaffirms U.S. participation in ITER to the tune of $374M in FY2021 and $281M for each of FY2022-25. Located in southern France, and a collaborative project among several countries, ITER is the world’s largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device, under construction. In addition to the United States, the other ITER Members are China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia.
- Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technology (Sec. 2003): DOE is authorized to carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application in support of advanced reactors, up to $55M for each of FY2021-25. The program prioritizes designs that are “proliferation resistant” and “passively safe,” and designs that, compared to currently-operating reactors, are: (1) economically competitive, (2) have improved on metrics such as efficiency, cost, environmental impact, resilience, and safety, (3) use proliferation-resistant fuels and have reduced high-level waste per unit of output, and (4) use advanced instrumentation and monitoring systems.
Notably, Congress reauthorized DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), which provides for cost-sharing opportunities with industry, with an authorization of $405M for FY2021. DOE recently granted $20M in awards for ARDP’s ARC-20 program to propel advanced reactor designs, building on nearly $200M in funding support for advanced reactor demonstration projects earlier in the year. For information on previous ARDP project awards, please see our previous blog post.
Congress also authorized $60M per year for FY2021-2025 for DOE to develop a program to research advanced fuel cycles, including a variety of options for nuclear fuel storage, use, and disposal. In addition, the legislation authorized $125M for each of FY2021-2025 to create a program for advanced fuel research and commercial application on next-generation light water reactor and advanced reactor fuels.
- Advanced Nuclear Fuel (Sec. 2001): Congress authorized $31.5M for FY2021 for the DOE to establish a program to support the availability of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) for civilian research, development, demonstration, and commercial use.
This program includes developing criticality benchmark data to assist the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in licensing and regulation of special nuclear material (SNM) fuel fabrication and enrichment facilities under 10 CFR Part 70, and certification of transportation packages under 10 CFR Part 71. The Secretary of Energy will also conduct R&D and provide financial assurance to assist commercial entities in designing and licensing canisters and other packages for the transport of HALEU compositions.
The legislation also establishes a consortium of entities across the nuclear fuel cycle, which would partner with DOE to support availability of HALEU by sharing information, making purchases of HALEU, and carrying out demonstration projects. DOE must also conduct biennial surveys of industry regarding HALEU requirements.
Note, these program discussed above had been authorized—but not appropriated—meaning they must rely on future appropriations from Congress to move forward.
The Energy Act of 2020 is an important piece of legislation for the U.S. fission and fusion industry that features federal aid and partnerships, across a range of technologies in different development stages—from fusion R&D to support for eventual demonstration and commercialization of facilities.
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