On Wednesday, the Department of Energy announced nearly $67 million in funding for its annual support of nuclear energy research led primarily by universities.
Of that, $30 million will help support 44 research and development projects led by 30 schools participating in the DOE's Nuclear Energy University Programs. That specific category of funding was scaled back from $42 million awarded in 2013, although the total across all research programs increased. As in previous years, the recent awards cover a broad range of projects delving into reactor fuels performance, advanced reactor concepts, waste management, computer modelling and other areas.
The DOE also announced five awards totaling $20 million for its Integrated Research Projects program, compared to a single project awarded $5 million last year. The agency will also fund 12 awards totaling $11 million for its Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies Crosscutting Technology Development Program, which represents a $2 million increase over last year.
Funding for research reactor improvements totaled $4 million, compared to $5 million in 2013. The awards also included more than $1 million for two infrastructure enhancement projects at national laboratories.