PIMA Nuclear Alliance Workshop

Date and Time
Location
Invent Penn State Innovation Hub
Research Themes

We would like to invite you to our PIMA Nuclear Alliance Kick-off Workshop (the first of a series) being held June 20-21, 2022 at the Penn State Innovation HUB (https://innovationhub.launchbox.psu.edu). The PIMA (Post-Industrial Midwest and Appalachia) Nuclear Alliance is an initiative at Penn State seeking to innovate and accelerate adoption of micro nuclear reactor (MNR) and advanced nuclear reactor technology across the region to impact difficult to decarbonize industrial sectors at scale. Westinghouse is one of several founding partners and this partnership is a great start toward our goal of establishing a MNR research, development, and deployment (RD&D) platform that will enable us to innovate in multiple technological thrusts such as manufacturing, power conversion, and addressing critical decarbonization gaps such as orphan coal mine transformation. The alliance involves four national labs (INL, LANL, ANL and ORNL), the University of Michigan, University of Tennessee Knoxville, West Virginia University, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority serving institutions (MSIs), and additional regional industry stakeholders who are interested in leveraging MNR and advanced reactor technology for their decarbonization goals.

This Kick-off Workshop will introduce the PIMA Nuclear Alliance and welcome the engagement of stakeholders, scientists, and engineers interested in participating. Our time will be spent in open discussion about the role of MNR and advanced reactor technology in the region, as well as how Penn State faculty and other academic and national lab collaborators can engage with a MNR RD&D platform. Discussions will also consider technology adoption, regulatory, policy, and societal aspects in the PIMA region.  The workshop agenda is below and will consist of plenary talks, panel sessions and breakout small group discussions.  Our workshop will also include a tour of the Penn State Breazeale Reactor in the Radiation Science and Engineering Center. 

The goals of the kick-off workshop will be to: 

  • Start socializing the existence of the PIMA Nuclear Alliance to potential partners, stakeholders, and collaborators; 
  • Engage founding partners with the overall vision and solicit feedback; 
  • Identify other key partnerships in all sectors (e.g., academia, private, community, state and local governments); and 
  • Establish technical and societal readiness groups, including identification of strategic funding mechanisms in the short- and long-term. 

The agenda structure will be: 

Monday, June 20, 2022 

8:30-9:00 Continental Breakfast 

9:00-9:30 Welcome and Introductions 

9:30-10:00 Penn State Keynote: Vision of PIMA 

10:00-10:30 Westinghouse Keynote 

10:30-10:45 Break 

10:45-12:15 Panel on MNR research at the national labs 

12:15-1:30 Lunch 

1:30-3:00 Stakeholder Roundtable: MNR as a development platform (external stakeholders) 

3:00-3:15 Break 

3:15-5:00 Stakeholder Roundtable: The MNR as a user facility (internal stakeholders) 

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 

8:30-9:00 Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:30 RSEC Keynote 

9:30-10:00 Regulatory Perspective 

10:00-10:15 Break 

10:15-12:15 Breakout Discussions: 

  1. Technologies to Develop MNR R&D Platform (e.g., heat pipe research, digital twin, reactor design) 
  2. Application of MNR R&D Platform (e.g., materials testing, isotope production, process heat) 
  3. Regulatory, Security, Policy, and Societal Acceptance 
  4. Key Enabling Technologies for the Deployment of MNRs at Scale (e.g., manufacturing, grid integration) 

12:15-1:30 Lunch 

1:30-3:00 Penn State Breazeale Reactor Tour 

3:00-3:30 Closing