WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today opened applications for up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ (Gen III+) small modular reactor (SMR) technologies. DOE plans to use this funding—made possible in part by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—to spur the safe and responsible deployment of advanced reactor technologies across the country and encourage follow-on reactor projects to support our nation's ambitious climate goals and meeting the growing demand for clean, reliable, and affordable power. Today’s announcement aims to assist the private sector in establishing a credible and sustainable pathway to deploying a fleet of Gen III+ SMRs across the country that advances environmental protection and community benefits, creates new, good-paying, high-quality jobs, and reinforces America’s leadership in the nuclear industry.
华盛顿特区——作为拜登-哈里斯政府“投资美国”议程的一部分，美国能源部（DOE）今天启动了高达9亿美元的资金申请，用于支持第三代+（Gen III+）小型模块化反应堆（SMR）技术的国内初步部署。DOE计划利用这些资金——部分源于拜登总统的《两党基础设施法案》——推动先进反应堆技术在全国范围内的安全和负责任的部署，鼓励后续反应堆项目以支持国家的气候目标，满足对清洁、可靠和可负担电力日益增长的需求。今天的公告旨在帮助私营部门建立可信且可持续的Gen III+ SMR部署路径，以促进环境保护和社区效益，创造新的高薪优质就业机会，并强化美国在核工业中的领导地位。
“Revitalizing America’s nuclear sector is key to adding more carbon free energy to the grid and meeting the needs of our growing economy—from AI and data centers to manufacturing and healthcare,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to the President and Vice President’s Investing in America agenda, the nation’s nuclear industry is poised to lead the world in innovative advanced reactor technologies, which will create high-paying jobs while providing the flexible and reliable clean energy we need to support a thriving clean energy future.”
美国能源部长詹妮弗·M·格兰霍姆表示：“重振美国的核能部门对于在电网中添加更多无碳能源，并满足从人工智能和数据中心到制造和医疗等领域的经济增长需求至关重要。感谢总统和副总统的‘投资美国’议程，国家的核工业正准备在创新先进反应堆技术方面引领世界，这将创造高薪工作，同时提供我们支持繁荣清洁能源未来所需的灵活可靠的清洁能源。”
“Next-generation nuclear energy will play an important role in building the clean power sector of the future,” said Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta. “Today’s funding will boost American innovation, bolster our national security, and tackle the climate crisis.”
总统国际气候政策高级顾问约翰·波德斯塔说：“下一代核能将在未来清洁电力领域的建设中发挥重要作用。今天的资金将促进美国的创新，加强我们的国家安全，并应对气候危机。”
“President Biden and Vice President Harris made a big bet on America’s energy potential, and this Administration’s investments to jumpstart our nuclear future are paying off in a big way,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “All across the country, we are seeing a muscular resurgence in American energy innovation – from bringing back previously shuttered nuclear plants to bringing online new technologies and new reactors. America’s nuclear industry is racing ahead because strong Biden-Harris policies are spurring billions in private sector investment into this critical technology, which will lower energy costs and create good-paying union jobs.”
白宫国家气候顾问阿里·扎伊迪表示：“拜登总统和副总统哈里斯对美国的能源潜力做出了重大押注，本届政府对启动我们核能未来的投资取得了巨大成效。全国各地，我们看到美国能源创新的强劲复兴——从恢复先前关闭的核电厂到推出新技术和新反应堆。美国的核工业正在迅速发展，因为强有力的拜登-哈里斯政策正在推动私营部门向这一关键技术投资数十亿美元，这将降低能源成本，并创造高薪的工会工作。”
DOE estimates the U.S. will need approximately 700-900 GW of additional clean, firm power generation capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Nuclear power is a proven option that could be deployed to meet this growing demand. In 2023, nuclear energy provided nearly half of America’s carbon-free electricity. Utilities are looking to extend the lifespan of current nuclear reactors, planning to uprate reactor capacity, reversing plans to close reactors, and even restarting formerly closed reactors. At the same time, they are earnestly exploring building new reactors to meet the fast-growing demand for carbon-free energy. Designed with a variety of capabilities, sizes, and deployment scenarios in mind, SMRs can be used for power generation, process heat, desalination, and more. In particular, SMRs offer the potential for greater modularity, more factory-style construction, and the ability to be matched with loads and scaled to meet demand. Additionally, Gen III+ SMRs may be able to revitalize and leverage the expertise, workforce, and supply chains supporting the existing fleet of large light-water reactor designs, thus providing a near-term path for new nuclear deployments and operation.
美国能源部估计，美国到2050年将需要大约700-900吉瓦的额外清洁和稳定的发电容量才能实现净零排放。核能是一种经过验证的选择，可以用于满足这一日益增长的需求。在2023年，核能提供了美国近一半的无碳电力。公用事业公司正在寻求延长现有核反应堆的使用寿命，计划提高反应堆容量，逆转关闭反应堆的计划，甚至重新启动以前关闭的反应堆。同时，他们也在积极探索建设新反应堆，以满足对无碳能源快速增长的需求。SMR设计考虑了多种能力、大小和部署场景，可以用于发电、工艺热、海水淡化等。特别是，SMR具有更大的模块化潜力，更像工厂式的建设方式，能够根据负荷进行匹配并按需扩展。此外，Gen III+ SMR还可以重振并利用支持现有大型轻水反应堆设计的专业知识、劳动力和供应链，从而为新核电部署和运行提供短期路径。
Created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 and utilizing funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE anticipates offering funding in two tiers:
由2024年综合拨款法案创建，并利用拜登总统的《两党基础设施法案》资金，美国能源部预计将提供两级资金：
Tier 1: First Mover Team Support, managed by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), will provide up to $800M for milestone-based awards to support up to two first mover teams of utility, reactor vendor, constructor, and end-users/off-takers committed to deploying a first plant while facilitating a multi-reactor, Gen III+ SMR orderbook and the opportunity to work with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to incorporate safeguards and security by design into the projects.
第一级：先行团队支持，由清洁能源示范办公室（OCED）管理，将提供高达8亿美元的基于里程碑的奖励，以支持多达两个由公用事业公司、反应堆供应商、建造商和终端用户/承购商组成的先行团队，致力于部署第一个工厂，同时推动多反应堆、Gen III+ SMR订单，并有机会与国家核安全局（NNSA）合作，在项目中融入设计安全保障和安全性。
Tier 2: Fast Follower Deployment Support, managed by the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), will provide up to $100M to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry in areas such as design, licensing, supplier development, and site preparation.
第二级：快速跟进部署支持，由核能办公室（NE）管理，将提供高达1亿美元的资金，通过解决设计、许可、供应商开发和场地准备等方面阻碍国内核工业的关键缺口，以推动额外的Gen III+ SMR部署。
For Tier 1, teams must include a U.S. utility, reactor technology vendor, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company with the lead applicant being the utility, end-user/off-taker, a development company, or incorporated consortium. Tier 2 funding is sorted into three different categories, for which applicants must be either planned project owners or utilities, or entities looking to improve the capability, capacity, or cost competitiveness of the domestic supply chain for Gen III+ SMRs. Read the solicitation for full eligibility criteria.
对于第一级，团队必须包括美国公用事业公司、反应堆技术供应商以及工程、采购和建造（EPC）公司，主要申请者可以是公用事业公司、终端用户/承购商、开发公司或联合公司。第二级资金分为三个不同的类别，申请者必须是计划项目的所有者或公用事业公司，或寻求提高Gen III+ SMR国内供应链能力、容量或成本竞争力的实体。请阅读招标文件以了解完整的资格标准。
These investments advance the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
这些投资推动了总统的“Justice40”倡议，该倡议设定了一个目标，即40%的联邦气候、清洁能源、可负担和可持续住房以及其他投资的总体效益将流向因投资不足而边缘化和受污染负担过重的弱势社区。
Applications are due on January 17, 2025, at 5pm ET. For more information, visit the Gen III+ SMR engagement webpage here. Applicants may wish to register for the informational webinar on October 22, 2024 here. Questions about the solicitation may be directed to Gen3PlusSMR@hq.doe.gov. Questions about navigating OCED eXCHANGE may be directed to OCED-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.
申请截止日期为2025年1月17日东部时间下午5点。欲了解更多信息，请访问Gen III+ SMR参与网页。申请者可以在2024年10月22日注册信息网络研讨会。关于招标的问题可以发邮件至Gen3PlusSMR@hq.doe.gov。关于使用OCED eXCHANGE的问题可以联系OCED-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov。
Learn more about how OCED, NE, and the Department’s updated Pathways to Advanced Nuclear Commercial Liftoff support the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies that will help the U.S. nuclear sector support our nation’s ambitious goal of a net-zero emissions by 2050.
了解更多关于OCED、NE及能源部更新的《先进核能商业化启动路径》如何支持研究、开发、示范和部署技术的信息，这些技术将帮助美国核能部门支持我们到2050年实现净零排放的宏伟目标。
