Idaho National Laboratory will serve as a lead partner in a multi-state effort to establish the Intermountain West as a center for advanced nuclear energy innovation, federal officials announced. The initiative, known as the Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Corridor Tech Hub, combines a five-year, $31 million federal grant with $9 million in regional matching funds and private investment to support small modular reactor development and workforce expansion across Idaho and Wyoming.
The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration awarded the grant to support the tech hub’s ambitious plan to position the two-state region as a leader in next-generation nuclear technology while generating hundreds of regional jobs and thousands of positions nationwide. Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium will manage the grant administration, working alongside INL and regional partners to execute the initiative.
Hub Infrastructure and Support Systems
The tech hub framework includes collaborative workspace, business incubators, and testing facilities designed specifically for emerging nuclear companies. Startups will gain access to shared infrastructure and resources that typically require significant capital investment to establish independently. Testing beds will enable companies to conduct real-world experiments on microreactor and advanced reactor concepts, accelerating product development and commercialization timelines.
Workforce development represents a cornerstone of the initiative. The hub will establish training programs in manufacturing, engineering, and skilled trades to build a pipeline of workers qualified to support growing nuclear operations across the region. Such training will span entry-level positions through advanced technical roles, ensuring local workers can access employment opportunities created by the expanding nuclear sector.
John Wagner, director of Idaho National Laboratory, characterized the tech hub as essential infrastructure for translating research into deployable systems. “This Tech Hub brings together the capabilities, infrastructure and partnerships needed to move from research and development to deployment at scale,” Wagner said.
INL’s Strategic Role and Recent Advances
INL’s contributions extend across three critical areas. The laboratory will work to establish a domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, reducing industry dependence on foreign sources. Staff will also guide private companies through complex regulatory pathways that often delay commercialization, providing expertise developed through decades of federal nuclear work. The third focus area—expanding training capacity—directly supports the workforce pipeline discussed above.
The laboratory has recently strengthened its position as a nuclear innovation hub. In 2025, INL opened its Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments testbed to industry partners, enabling private sector testing of compact reactor designs. That same year, INL partnered with NVIDIA to integrate artificial intelligence into advanced nuclear energy systems, enhancing operational efficiency and monitoring capabilities across reactor fleets.
The Department of Energy has further bolstered INL’s technical capacity by planning activation of the Teton supercomputer at the facility. The system will provide high-performance computing resources essential for modeling complex nuclear systems and supporting the computational demands of advanced energy research.
Economic Impact and Industry Expansion
The $40 million funding package represents a substantial federal and private commitment to nuclear sector growth in the Intermountain West. Over the next five years, the tech hub is expected to create hundreds of direct jobs in Idaho and Wyoming, with projections suggesting thousands of additional nuclear industry positions across the nation as companies scale operations and supply chains expand.
Hope Morrow, INL’s workforce and economic development programs manager, emphasized the collaborative nature of the effort. “The INEC Tech Hub is what American innovation looks like when everyone brings their best,” Morrow said.
The initiative reflects broader recognition of nuclear energy’s role in meeting growing electricity demand, particularly as artificial intelligence and data-intensive industries expand their power requirements. Small modular reactors and advanced reactor designs offer potential advantages in flexibility, deployment speed, and safety characteristics compared to traditional large reactors, making them attractive to a widening range of industrial and commercial users.
What Comes Next
Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium will begin implementing grant programs and infrastructure development in coordination with INL and regional economic development organizations. The hub’s first initiatives will likely focus on establishing operational testing facilities and launching the initial workforce training cohorts. Companies interested in accessing the hub’s resources can expect detailed program information and application procedures in coming months. A recent $31 million federal award was previously announced to target nuclear workforce growth across Idaho and Wyoming, while INL’s ongoing modernization efforts position the laboratory at the center of the nation’s nuclear fleet advancement.