42 U.S.C. § 16277 — High-performance computation and sup-

Page 8831 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 16277 construction of the facility under this sec- tion— (A) $295,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; (B) $348,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; (C) $525,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; (D) $534,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and (E) $584,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. (d) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nu- clear (1) In general In carrying out the programs under this part, the Secretary is authorized to establish a new initiative to be known as the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN). The initiative shall, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with national secu- rity, provide the nuclear energy industry with access to cutting edge research and develop- ment along with the technical, regulatory, and financial support necessary to move inno- vative nuclear energy technologies toward commercialization in an accelerated and cost- effective fashion. The Secretary shall make available, as a minimum— (A) experimental capabilities and testing facilities; (B) computational capabilities, modeling, and simulation tools; (C) access to existing datasets and data validation tools; and (D) technical assistance with guidance or processes as needed. (2) Selection (A) In general The Secretary shall select industry part- ners for awards on a competitive merit-re- viewed basis. (B) Considerations In selecting industry partners under sub- paragraph (A), the Secretary shall con- sider— (i) the information disclosed by the De- partment as described in paragraph (1); and (ii) any existing facilities the Depart- ment will provide for public private part- nership activities. (Pub. L. 109–58, title IX, § 955, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 887; Pub. L. 115–248, § 2(e), Sept. 28, 2018, 132 Stat. 3156; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title II, § 2003(f), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2466.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2020—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 116–260, § 2003(f)(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘Authorization’’ for ‘‘Mission need’’ in head- ing. Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 116–260, § 2003(f)(1)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘provide’’ for ‘‘determine the mission need’’. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 116–260, § 2003(f)(3), substituted ‘‘2026’’ for ‘‘2025’’. Subsec. (c)(7). Pub. L. 116–260, § 2003(f)(2), added par. (7). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–260, § 2003(f)(4), added subsec. (d). 2018—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 115–248 added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsecs. (c) and (d) which re- quired development of a comprehensive plan for the fa- cilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and trans- mittal of the plan to Congress. § 16276. Security of nuclear facilities The Secretary shall conduct a research and de- velopment program on cost-effective tech- nologies for increasing— (1) the safety of nuclear facilities from nat- ural phenomena; and (2) the security of nuclear facilities from de- liberate attacks. (Pub. L. 109–58, title IX, § 956, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 888; Pub. L. 115–248, § 2(f), Sept. 28, 2018, 132 Stat. 3157.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Pub. L. 115–248 struck out ‘‘, acting through the Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology,’’ after ‘‘The Secretary’’ in introductory provisions. § 16277. High-performance computation and sup- portive research (a) Modeling and simulation The Secretary shall carry out a program to en- hance the capabilities of the United States to develop new reactor technologies through high- performance computation modeling and simula- tion techniques. (b) Coordination In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall coordinate with relevant Federal agencies as described by the National Strategic Computing Initiative established by Executive Order 13702 (80 Fed. Reg. 46177 (July 29, 2015)), while taking into account the fol- lowing objectives: (1) Using expertise from the private sector, institutions of higher education, and the Na- tional Laboratories to develop computational software and capabilities that prospective users may access to accelerate research and development of advanced nuclear reactor sys- tems and reactor systems for space explo- ration. (2) Developing computational tools to simu- late and predict nuclear phenomena that may be validated through physical experimen- tation. (3) Increasing the utility of the research in- frastructure of the Department by coordi- nating with the Advanced Scientific Com- puting Research program within the Office of Science. (4) Leveraging experience from the Energy Innovation Hub for Modeling and Simulation. (5) Ensuring that new experimental and computational tools are accessible to relevant research communities, including private sec- tor entities engaged in nuclear energy tech- nology development. (c) Supportive research activities The Secretary shall consider support for addi- tional research activities to maximize the util- ity of the research facilities of the Department, including physical processes— (1) to simulate degradation of materials and behavior of fuel forms; and Page 8832 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 16278 (2) for validation of computational tools. (d) Duplication The Secretary shall ensure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary duplication of, the ac- tivities of the program under subsection (a) with the activities of— (1) other research entities of the Depart- ment, including the National Laboratories, the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, and the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program; and (2) industry. (Pub. L. 109–58, title IX, § 957, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 888; Pub. L. 115–248, § 2(g), Sept. 28, 2018, 132 Stat. 3157; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title II, § 2004, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2470.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Executive Order 13702, referred to in subsec. (b), is set out as a note under section 5501 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. AMENDMENTS 2020—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–260 added subsec. (d). 2018—Pub. L. 115–248 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to survey and plan re- garding alternatives to industrial radioactive sources. § 16278. Enabling nuclear energy innovation (a) National Reactor Innovation Center There is authorized a program to enable the testing and demonstration of reactor concepts to be proposed and funded, in whole or in part, by the private sector. (b) Technical expertise In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall leverage the technical expertise of relevant Federal agencies and the National Laboratories in order to minimize the time required to enable construction and oper- ation of privately funded experimental reactors at National Laboratories or other Department- owned sites. (c) Objectives The reactors described in subsection (b) shall operate to meet the following objectives: (1) Enabling physical validation of advanced nuclear reactor concepts. (2) Resolving technical uncertainty and in- creasing practical knowledge relevant to safe- ty, resilience, security, and functionality of advanced nuclear reactor concepts. (3) General research and development to im- prove nascent technologies. (d) Sharing technical expertise In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into a memo- randum of understanding with the Chairman of the Commission in order to share technical ex- pertise and knowledge through— (1) enabling the testing and demonstration of advanced nuclear reactor concepts to be proposed and funded, in whole or in part, by the private sector; (2) operating a database to store and share data and knowledge relevant to nuclear science and engineering between Federal agen- cies and the private sector; (3) developing and testing electric and non- electric integration and energy conversion systems relevant to advanced nuclear reac- tors; (4) leveraging expertise from the Commis- sion with respect to safety analysis; and (5) enabling technical staff of the Commis- sion to actively observe and learn about tech- nologies developed under the program. (e) Agency coordination The Chairman of the Commission and the Sec- retary shall enter into a memorandum of under- standing regarding the following: (1) Ensuring that— (A) the Department has sufficient tech- nical expertise to support the timely re- search, development, demonstration, and commercial application by the civilian nu- clear industry of safe and innovative ad- vanced nuclear reactor technology; and (B) the Commission has sufficient tech- nical expertise to support the evaluation of applications for licenses, permits, and design certifications and other requests for regu- latory approval for advanced nuclear reac- tors. (2) The use of computers and software codes to calculate the behavior and performance of advanced nuclear reactors based on mathe- matical models of the physical behavior of ad- vanced nuclear reactors. (3) Ensuring that— (A) the Department maintains and devel- ops the facilities necessary to enable the timely research, development, demonstra- tion, and commercial application by the ci- vilian nuclear industry of safe and innova- tive reactor technology; and (B) the Commission has access to the fa- cilities described in subparagraph (A), as needed. (f) Reporting requirements (1) In general Not later than 180 days after September 28, 2018, the Secretary, in consultation with the National Laboratories, relevant Federal agen- cies, and other stakeholders, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re- port assessing the capabilities of the Depart- ment to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded experimental advanced nuclear reac- tors as described in subsection (b). (2) Contents The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall address— (A) the safety review and oversight capa- bilities of the Department, including options to leverage expertise from the Commission and the National Laboratories; (B) options to regulate privately proposed and funded experimental reactors hosted by the Department; (C) potential sites capable of hosting pri- vately funded experimental advanced nu- clear reactors; (D) the efficacy of the available contrac- tual mechanisms of the Department to part-