Utah State University has formalized an expanded research relationship with Idaho National Laboratory, signing a memorandum of understanding that brings the Logan-based institution into INL’s growing network of university collaborators focused on nuclear energy and advanced technology development.
The agreement, signed May 11, establishes a Strategic Understanding for Premier Education and Research — known as a SUPER partnership — between USU and Battelle Energy Alliance, the contractor that manages INL. USU President Brad L. Mortensen and INL Deputy Lab Director Todd Combs both signed the agreement.
USU becomes the third Utah university to hold a SUPER agreement with INL, joining a national network that now includes 13 institutions. INL entered a similar agreement with Missouri University of Science and Technology last year, reflecting the laboratory’s steady push to build academic research pipelines across multiple states.
Research Focus Areas
The partnership spans a wide range of technical disciplines, including nuclear material recycling, product separation, waste monitoring, and radiation detection. Research will also cover energy storage systems, environmental engineering and modeling, and tool development for critical minerals extraction and processing — an area of growing national importance as the United States works to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains for minerals essential to energy and defense technology.
Additionally, the agreement calls for collaboration on automation, control systems, and cybersecurity for machinery and vehicles, reflecting INL’s expanded role as a hub for not just nuclear science but broader national security research. Joint workshops, conferences, and a shared appointment program between the two institutions are also part of the agreement’s framework.
Supporting Utah’s Energy Expansion Goals
The timing of the agreement aligns with an ambitious Utah state initiative to double its energy-generating capacity by 2035, which includes plans for a nuclear facility in northern Utah. USU’s collaboration with INL is intended to directly support that goal by developing the research base and trained workforce necessary for nuclear deployment.
Mortensen said the partnership positions USU at the front of discovery for addressing Utah’s energy demands. Combs called the agreement an important step forward in the two institutions’ ongoing collaboration.
INL, located in eastern Idaho between Idaho Falls and Arco, has long served as the nation’s leading nuclear energy research facility. Its expanding SUPER agreement network reflects a broader federal strategy to strengthen the connection between national laboratories and regional universities, ensuring that research conducted at the laboratory level translates into academic programs and a skilled technical workforce.
For Idaho, the growing network of university partnerships at INL represents an ongoing economic and scientific asset. The laboratory employs thousands of workers in the Idaho Falls and Bonneville County area, and its academic partnerships — even with out-of-state universities — generate research that flows through INL’s operations and ultimately supports the regional economy. INL has also been at the center of advanced fuel research; thorium fuel tested at the laboratory recently exceeded burnup goals after a two-year campaign, underscoring the depth of cutting-edge work underway at the site.
What Comes Next
Under the SUPER agreement, USU and INL will move forward with establishing the joint appointment program and scheduling initial collaborative workshops. The partnership is expected to grow as Utah advances its 2035 energy capacity goals, with nuclear development remaining a central piece of that strategy. Further details on specific research projects are expected to emerge as the two institutions begin executing the agreement’s provisions.