“There’s no place like DOME🏠.”
That was the exact subject line, with the emoji, of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) email blast on April 9.
It was announcing the completion of a new test bed for nuclear microreactors at the Idaho National Lab. The 100-foot-tall dome, constructed of metal and cement is a “first-of-its-kind facility,” according to the DOE. The structure could help usher in what the Trump administration hopes will be a “nuclear renaissance.”
The plan is to test microreactors being developed by private companies.
“It's a permanent test bed where we can bring in different reactors sequentially,” said Brad Tomer, director of the lab’s National Reactor Innovation Center, which has developed the dome.
Tomer said it’s expensive and takes a lot of time for private companies to build their own test beds. The goal of the dome is to take that factor out of the equation and “greatly accelerate their path to commercialization,” he said.
It’s also a safe place to turn on reactors for the first time, according to Tomer. He said advanced reactors have fail safes, but they're also surrounded by a shielding enclosure within the dome if that doesn’t work. He said the dome, located in the remote high desert of eastern Idaho, provides a “third layer of defense.”
California-based Radiant Nuclear will be the first to test its portable microreactor. According to the company’s website, the technology could replace “diesel generators in remote villages” and provide “resilient backup power for hospitals, datacenters, and military installations.”
Radiant is one of several companies attempting to start testing their reactors by July 4, a deadline set by the Trump administration for its pilot program. The federal government says it’s fast tracking the commercial licensing process so at least three advanced nuclear reactor concepts “reach criticality” by the deadline. That means they are operationally safe and stable when turned on for the first time.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
