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GAIN announces Second-round FY 2021 Nuclear Energy Voucher recipients

March 25, 2021

The Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) announced today that three nuclear companies will be provided GAIN Nuclear Energy (NE) Vouchers to accelerate the innovation and application of advanced nuclear technologies. NE vouchers provide advanced nuclear technology innovators with access to the extensive nuclear research capabilities and expertise available across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory complex. This is the second set of awards in FY 2021.

The businesses selected to receive a GAIN nuclear energy voucher for Round 2 FY 2021 are:

GAIN 2021 2nd Round NE Voucher Recipient	Awarded Proposal	Partner Facility
Lightbridge Corp. Reston, VA	Development of Casting Techniques for δ-phase Uranium-Zirconium Alloys	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Oklo Inc. Sunnyvale, CA	Experimental and Systems-Level Validation of Thermal-Hydraulic Behavior in SFRs	Argonne National Laboratory
Radiant El Segundo, CA	Microreactor Control Drum Failure Simulation	Idaho National Laboratory

GAIN NE voucher recipients do not receive direct financial awards. The GAIN nuclear energy vouchers provide access to national laboratory capabilities at no cost to the voucher recipients. All awardees are responsible for a minimum 20 percent cost share, which could be an in-kind contribution.

The GAIN NE Voucher Program accepts applications on innovation that support the production and utilization of nuclear energy (e.g., for generation of electricity, supply of process heat, etc.) in the following general topic areas:

• Analysis and evaluation of, and for, advanced reactor concepts and associated designs, including the development of R&D-based licensing technical requirements or regulatory strategies
• Structural material and component development, testing and qualification
• Advanced nuclear fuel development, fabrication and testing (includes fuel materials and cladding)
• Development, testing, and qualification of instrumentation, controls, and sensor technologies that are hardened for harsh environments and secured against cyber intrusion
• Modeling and simulation, high-performance computing, codes and methods
• Technical assistance from subject matter experts and/or data/information to support technology development and/or confirm key technical or licensing issues

Further information on the GAIN nuclear energy voucher program as well as current and all past awards may be found here.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) established GAIN to provide the nuclear community with the technical, regulatory, and financial support necessary to move innovative nuclear energy technologies toward commercialization while ensuring the continued safe, reliable, and economic operation of the existing nuclear fleet. Through GAIN, DOE is making its state-of-the-art and continuously improving RD&D infrastructure available to stakeholders to achieve faster and cost-effective development of innovative nuclear energy technologies toward commercial readiness.

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