42 U.S.C. § 16272 — Reactor concepts research, development, demonstration, and commercial application

(a) Sustainability program for light water reactors (1) In general. The Secretary must run a research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program — including modeling and simulation — to help existing nuclear power plants. It must cover technology to improve reliability, capacity, aging parts, safety, physical security and its costs, how long plants can run, operating and maintenance costs (using risk-based analysis), flexible operation, the integrated energy system uses described in subsection (c), efficiency, environmental impact, and resilience. (2) Isotope demonstration evaluation. Within a year of August 9, 2022, the Secretary — through the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy — must study whether it's technically and financially possible to add a subprogram that helps existing commercial nuclear plants produce critical radioactive and stable isotopes, and set it up if so. This must be done in consultation with the Director of the Office of Science. "Critical radioactive and stable isotope" is defined elsewhere in the law. (3) Report. Every year, the Secretary must give Congress's Science and Energy committees a public report on how the program's money was spent, its activities, goals, and results — including things that could help the whole existing reactor fleet, like managing aging, and which funds went to private companies. (4) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized $55,000,000 a year for fiscal years 2021 through 2025. (b) Advanced reactor technologies (1) In general. The Secretary must run a research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program to support advanced reactor technology. (2) Requirements. The Secretary must: favor reactor designs that resist proliferation and are passively safe — meaning, compared to reactors running as of December 27, 2020, they compete economically with other power plants, run more efficiently and safely with less environmental harm, use fuels that resist proliferation and make less high-level waste, and use advanced instruments; consult the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on how to measure those qualities; fund research on materials that survive extreme radiation, heat, pressure, and corrosion; help qualify advanced fuels, including how they're made; support modeling and simulation work that speeds up design and licensing; develop technologies to manage, reduce, or reuse nuclear waste; keep up or build research infrastructure — research reactors at labs and universities, hot cell facilities, a versatile fast neutron source, and coolant testing facilities for materials like lead, sodium, gas, and molten salt; improve understanding of non-water coolant physics and chemistry; develop advanced sensors and controls; study advanced manufacturing and construction methods (including digital twins) to cut costs, and how those methods affect materials under radiation and corrosion; work with the National Nuclear Security Administration on safeguards and security in reactor design; help remove technical barriers to commercial use of advanced reactors; and develop safety analyses and emergency response plans. (3) Coordination. The Secretary must work with private industry and experts in nonproliferation, environmental and public health and safety, and economics. The Secretary must set up an advisory committee of these people, which must report yearly to Congress on the program's progress. (4) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized $55,000,000 a year for fiscal years 2021 through 2025. (c) Nuclear integrated energy systems research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program (1) In general. The Secretary must run a program to develop systems that combine two or more energy technologies — where at least one is nuclear — to cut greenhouse gas emissions in and outside the power sector, and get the most energy and efficiency out of the system. (2) Coordination. The Secretary must coordinate with relevant Department offices, National Laboratories, universities, and private industry. (3) Focus areas. The program may cover desalination, making hydrogen or other fuels and chemicals, industrial heat, district heating, generating and storing heat or electricity, capturing and using carbon, microgrids or island power systems, modeling different combined-system designs, and planning how to integrate these systems with existing infrastructure and the power grid. (4) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized: $20,000,000 for 2021; $30,000,000 for 2022; $30,000,000 for 2023; $40,000,000 for 2024; and $40,000,000 for 2025.