Wyoming Seeks to Establish a “Nuclear Industry” and Advanced Manufacturing

Wyoming is partnering with Battelle Energy Alliance to “‘collaborate in the research, development, demonstration and deployment of advanced energy technologies and approaches,’” including nuclear power, according to The Casper Star-Tribune (subscription).

What’s happening: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon intends for the state to “establish a nuclear industry and a sophisticated and advanced manufacturing capacity using Wyoming uranium, Wyoming technology and Wyoming workers,” according to a statement.

Wyoming is the chosen home for the planned Natrium project, an advanced nuclear reactor to be developed by TerraPower.
Battelle operates the Idaho National Laboratory.

Memorandum of understanding: A five-year memorandum of understanding between the Wyoming Energy Authority and the Idaho National Laboratory “specifies 14 shared areas of interest,” many of which are related to nuclear and hydrogen power.

Common goal: “According to the memorandum, the shared target is to ‘collaboratively develop a path to global leadership in a carbon-constrained economy ’ and place the state ‘at the forefront’ of the advanced energy sector.”