DOE Seeks Industry Participation to Design Next Generation Nuclear Plant

July 31, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) requested expressions of interest from industry teams capable of providing engineering design services to the INL for the conceptual design phase of the department's Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP).

The NGNP seeks to utilize cutting-edge technology in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by enabling nuclear energy to replace fossil fuels in the petrochemical and transportation industries. 

The high-temperature reactor is based on research and development activities supported by the Generation IV nuclear energy systems initiative at INL and will be capable of producing hydrogen, electricity and/or process heat, said the DOE.

Expressions of interest are due to INL, the DOE lead laboratory for development of the NGNP, by August 20, 2007 and will be used to identify a pool of candidates to provide future engineering and design services. 

This announcement is built on the pre-conceptual design activities for which $8 million was awarded in September 2006.

Once expressions of interest are evaluated, a request for proposals will be issued to develop the conceptual design, expected to begin during the 2008 fiscal year. During this phase, the NGNP reactor's performance, safety and functional requirements will be defined as will estimated cost and a schedule for its construction and operation.

This design will provide the basis for subsequent analyses and design details leading to the submittal of a NGNP license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The DOE seeks to complete the design and construction of a prototype NGNP at INL by 2021.

Visit the INL web site to learn more about the requested expressions of interest regarding the conceptual design phase of the DOE NGNP.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).