Site Revealed for one of the World's Most Advanced Nuclear Reactors, Set to be Built at Idaho State University

“Idaho is not a great place to sell energy. It’s a great place to build it,” he said. “And this is an example right here, of exactly that. We’re going to build the energy, we’re going to build the technology, we’re going to build the components, and, more importantly, we’re going to build the great minds and the skillset to deploy all across this country as the nuclear renaissance goes forward.”

In April, the Department of Energy selected Idaho State University for the Department’s Nuclear Reactor Innovation Center Launch Pad USA program. In partnership with Idaho Falls-based NuCube Energy, Inc., the University plans to design and commission the Advanced Research and Test Reactor, a functional microreactor at ISU’s Business and Research Park. 

On Wednesday, leaders from across the state gathered at the future site of the reactor to recognize the project, the first of its kind in the nation. Along with Gov. Little, ISU President Robert Wagner, INL Deputy Director Todd Combs, NuCube CEO Cristian Rabiti, Launchpad USA Technical Program Manager Jake Rymer, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Business Council Member Russell Haskett and ISU student Sam Jeffries spoke at the event. 

The project will serve as a hub for student learning, applied research, and reactor operations. Idaho State University offers the only nuclear engineering undergraduate program in the state. The University has been meeting workforce needs for more than 60 years through its current reactor, and is well-positioned to offer education and research opportunities to help transform the energy landscape, Combs said. 

Idaho State University has operated a research reactor on campus since 1965, and is one of only 24 universities in the United States with a nuclear reactor. This connection played a key role in being selected for the new reactor partnership. 

“You have a rich history here at Idaho State,” Combs said. “Generations of students have earned their license on that reactor, and hundreds of students will earn their operator license on the new reactor. The laboratory has a lot of workforce needs.” 

Rabiti said the partnership between his company and ISU was a natural one. NuCube is an advanced nuclear technology company based in Idaho Falls that develops factory-built microreactors that provide carbon-free electricity and high-temperature industrial heat. 

“We are an innovation company. We are a research company. It’s natural to think about a University partnership,” he said. “We are a company that is focusing on changing the ways we build reactors. This is not only building a reactor. This is building an innovation partnership.” 

NuCube is already building that partnership, employing Idaho State University students. Jeffries, an ISU graduate student and full-time engineer spent more than a decade in engineering before coming to ISU to further his education, and is the lab manager and test engineer at NuCube. 

“While balancing a full load of graduate classes with a full-time engineering position can definitely be demanding, it gives me the opportunity to immediately apply what I’m learning at ISU to the work I do at NuCube every day,” he said. 

Wagner said the project demonstrates ISU’s commitment to the promises made in the University’s Contract for Idaho — to power Idaho’s energy future, train Idaho’s workforce, leverage partnerships and strengthen Idaho’s economy. 

“For ISU, this partnership is more than a demonstration of our commitment to education,” he said. “As we celebrate our 125 year anniversary we can look back and see the broad impact this institution has had on our communities and the State of Idaho.”