Feature Articles

It’s Tuesday morning in early June and the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) control room is crawling with visitors. Men in fatigues thumb through logbooks, monitor radiation levels, and consult data and images on laptop computers. These visitors are members of the U.S. Army’s Nuclear Disablement Team (NDT), participating in a new Nuclear Infrastructure, Assessment and Disablement (NIAD) field exercise that validates and certifies training received during INL’s annual NIAD course. The annual course is designed to improve the soldier’s proficiency and knowledge of nuclear fuel cycle processes, hazard mitigation and successful characterization and disablement of nuclear facilities.

In many electricity markets, hydropower operators earn a significant portion of their revenue from the day-ahead market. In this market, utilities buy electricity based on expected demand for the next day, while power producers offer to sell electricity at prices based on forecasted production and demand. This process ensures that enough electricity is available to meet demand and helps stabilize prices by balancing supply and demand ahead of time.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming widely adopted across multiple industries, including the critical field of grid operations. The integration of AI into grid systems promises enhanced efficiency and reliability, but it also brings a host of new challenges.

In the spring of 2020, a team of engineers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) embarked on a groundbreaking project to design a microreactor test facility that could transform the world’s energy future.

Consider the utility services that people use every day: light switches, water faucets and gas burners. The simple act of delivering electricity, water or gas to a home or business requires a cascade of invisible digital and physical processes, all functioning in tandem.

As manufacturers and utilities recognize their automated systems are vulnerable to hackers, the Idaho National Laboratory’s cyber escape rooms have become a go-to training resource for cybersecurity organizations around the world.

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the hub of collaboration among Western states to advance nuclear energy. This effort, anchored in legislative frameworks, strategic investments, collaborations and partnerships, is positioning the region as a leader in nuclear innovation.

In today’s hyperconnected world, wireless communication faces a critical challenge known as the “spectrum crunch.” Spectrum crunch results from more devices vying for limited frequencies, creating an overcrowded radio frequency spectrum — a bottleneck that disrupts communication. Spectrum crunch threatens not only everyday conveniences like cellphone connectivity but also essential services, such as emergency response times, global positioning systems and military operations.

Father and son entrepreneurs Mehul and Milan Shah have patented a new nuclear fuel design that could reduce nuclear waste, enhance safety and lower costs for today’s pressurized heavy water reactors.