The University of Tennessee’s nuclear knowledge and workforce development pathways are helping the state meet the growing demand from companies moving into the region. Those aspects were highlighted by the state of Tennessee in a comprehensive proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in April positioning nearby Oak Ridge as the premier site for a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus.
The new effort is intended to modernize the nation’s full nuclear fuel cycle and strengthen America’s leadership in advanced nuclear energy. On Tuesday, the state was selected as one of five finalists by the DOE to host a potential Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, further strengthening Tennessee’s role in securing America’s energy dominance by supporting the DOE’s vision.
Tennessee was joined by Utah, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho as potential host states. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed memorandums of understanding with the five states to continue exploring opportunities to host Innovation Campuses.
The DOE received 28 applications from 26 states. Per Tennessee’s proposal, the state offers the most comprehensive nuclear ecosystem in the United States, spanning nearly the full nuclear lifecycle, including fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing, advanced separations, and recycling of used nuclear fuel.
The UT Department of Nuclear Engineering TVA Department Chair Brian Wirth and new NE Professor of Practice Eric Abelquist are part of the American Nuclear Society’s designated Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus technical experts.
“This announcement should further the opportunities for our students and faculty to contribute to the nuclear epicenter,” Wirth said. “In particular, we will educate the future nuclear workforce and lead research required to innovate solutions to nuclear fuel reprocessing. This will contribute to optimizing nuclear waste disposal that will lead the nation and the world.”
UT’s NE department is ranked No. 2 nationally among public institutions, with faculty expertise and student outcomes that have positioned the university as a leader in the field.
Located only a few miles away from a nuclear corridor with more than 230 nuclear lifecycle companies in the area, UT has established relationships with TVA, Kairos Power, Type One Energy and many other major companies in the area. NE faculty and students are conducting collaborative research that directly impacts many of the nuclear lifecycle innovation priorities.
According to the DOE, the proposed innovation campuses have the potential to attract up to $50 billion in capital investment, generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue, and create nearly 25,000 jobs.
“These campuses will be massive generators of economic growth, create thousands of high-paying jobs, and be crucial to unleashing America’s nuclear renaissance,” Wright said in a DOE release. “The innovative concept is a direct result of President Trump’s leadership and ambitious directives to restore the domestic nuclear fuel cycle and get America’s nuclear industry growing again.”
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Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])