HR-4084 : Still Just a Bill

Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act

This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the objectives of the civilian nuclear energy research, development, demonstration, and commercial application programs of the Department of Energy (DOE) to emphasize:

• providing research infrastructure to promote scientific progress and enable users from academia, the National Laboratories, and the private sector to make scientific discoveries relevant for nuclear, chemical, and materials science engineering; and
• enabling the private sector to partner with the National Laboratories to demonstrate novel reactor concepts for the purpose of resolving technical uncertainty associated with the aforementioned objectives.

This bill directs DOE to carry out a program for enhancing the U.S. capability to develop new reactor technologies through high-performance computation modeling and simulation techniques. Such program shall coordinate with relevant federal agencies through the National Strategic Computing Initiative while taking into account specified objectives.

By December 31, 2016, DOE shall determine the mission need for a versatile reactor-based fast neutron source, which shall operate as a national user facility and, upon determining such a mission need, give Congress a plan to establish such a facility.

DOE shall also carry out a program to:

• enable the testing and demonstration of reactor concepts proposed and funded by the private sector, and
• leverage the technical expertise of relevant federal agencies and national laboratories to minimize the time required to enable construction and operation of privately funded experimental reactors at national laboratories or other DOE-owned sites.

These reactors shall operate to:

• enable physical validation of novel reactor concepts;
• resolve technical uncertainty and increase practical knowledge relevant to safety, resilience, security, and functionality of first-of-a-kind reactor concepts; and
• generate research and development to improve nascent technologies.

Within 12 months of this Act's enactment, DOE must submit to Congress 3 specified alternative 10-year budget plans for civilian nuclear energy research and development by the DOE.