Regents submit test-bed proposal to Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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Next generation reactors would be tested at Texas A&M-RELLIS

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Nuclear power companies and technology giants now can look to The Texas A&M University System for much sought-after land to test the latest nuclear reactors.

Several agreements have been made between reactor manufacturers and technology behemoths to provide the power that is necessary for modern computing, but few suitable locations have been identified…until now.

Today, officials with the Texas A&M System took the first official step to provide the sites that the nuclear companies desperately need. Also notably, the Texas A&M System will be the only higher education institution with a commercial reactor site license.

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents agreed to notify regulators at the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission today that it has potential sites available at Texas A&M-RELLIS in Bryan for multiple companies to test and construct the next generation of nuclear reactors. The "test bed" is expected to lead to energy advancements that could provide power to data centers for artificial intelligence and other power-hungry ventures.

John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System, said no other entity in the U.S. is further along than the Texas A&M System to provide a location and human resources to get small, modular nuclear reactors online. The test bed for the reactors will support multiple reactors from various companies, Sharp added. The reactors at the site also could put additional power into the state's energy grid at a time of high demand.

"The Texas A&M System is the missing piece of the puzzle," Sharp said. "States on the west coast and east coast would never attempt what we are doing. Under the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott, only Texans - particularly those at the Texas A&M System - have the courage to take on such a weighty and ambitious responsibility."

The submission of the letter of intent to the regulators marks the beginning of a licensing process for the A&M System. Reactor companies will benefit from the A&M System taking on the licensing burden. The result will be a shorter path to getting their reactors up and running.

The type of reactors that could be tested at Texas A&M-RELLIS are often classified as "small modular reactors," or SMRs. They have a footprint that is a fraction of the size of a traditional reactor, and they can produce up to 300MW(e) per unit, compared with more than 700MW(e) per unit with traditional reactors.

The Texas A&M System recently concluded the process of gathering proposals from nuclear reactor companies that hope to construct reactors at Texas A&M-RELLIS. Some of the businesses that submitted proposals already have announced partnerships with large technology companies to power their ventures with nuclear energy. Negotiations are expected to begin soon. Also, there might be additional opportunities for organizations to take advantage of the A&M System's site for nuclear testing and the manufacturing of modular reactors.

After negotiations are complete, the A&M System will announce which companies will conduct testing and other work at Texas A&M-RELLIS.

The Texas A&M System, along with Texas A&M University, is uniquely qualified to take on a venture as ambitious as building, testing and running nuclear reactors. The System's flagship campus in College Station - just a few miles from the testbed - employs dozens of professors and researchers with nuclear expertise. Plus, Texas A&M University is home to the largest nuclear engineering department of any university in the country. The A&M System also helps manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Pantex, the nation's primary plant for the assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons.

Sharp said: "From the people, to the land, to the enthusiasm to innovate, the Texas A&M System has everything we need to help the country meet its clean energy needs."

About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $7.3 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, and the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, the Texas A&M System educates more than 157,000 students and makes more than 21 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceed $1 billion and help drive the state's economy.

Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
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