Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Weber and Mr. Beyer for their congenial work on this issue.

I do rise today in support of H.R. 4084, the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act, as I am a cosponsor. Some of us believe a nuclear energy policy is important to the State of California, which is home to private companies and universities pursuing advanced nuclear technologies.

I am proud to support this legislation because it would provide capabilities for our technology innovators to develop new reactors that will yield amazing benefits to society through increased resistance to proliferation, minimizing waste, and perhaps even consuming existing waste stockpiles.

The possibilities are endless when we allow our engineers to creatively tackle the world's challenges, and this is no different for nuclear energy.

This is important because in my district we have recently seen the issues that can arise when an area is dependent on a single energy source.

California is home to many of the companies seeking to partner with the DOE and benefit from our Nation's unparalleled supercomputer capabilities. Leveraging the Department's assets will help our domestic industry capture a significant share of a growing, multibillion-dollar industry.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters of support from Tri Alpha, a California-based fusion company, and UPower, a California- based advanced fission reactor company. Tri Alpha Energy, February 24, 2016. Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman, House Science, Space & Technology Committee, Washington, DC. Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Member, House Science, Space & Technology Committee, Washington, DC. Hon. Randy Weber, Chairman, Energy Subcommittee, House Science, Space & Technology Committee, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Johnson, and Representative Weber: Tri Alpha Energy is a fusion energy science research company headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California. Our purpose is to deliver world-changing clean fusion energy for economical, commercial power generation as fast as possible. Tri Alpha started as a research project at the University of California-Irvine in 1990. Today we have 150 employees, over 350 patents issued or pending, and are conducting experiments on a state of the art plasma generation device.

We are writing to express support for your bill H.R. 4084, the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act. Global market and environmental conditions demand that new sources of clean, baseload electricity be developed. New nuclear designs hold tremendous promise as a sustainable and cost-competitive power solution, but the United States government must provide a favorable policy environment for the necessary technology developments to take place.

H.R. 4084 would make several improvements at the Department of Energy to help move advanced nuclear technology concepts, including fusion, out of the laboratory and toward commercialization. The Nuclear Innovation Center, for example, would enable shorter development and permitting timelines by allowing private companies to work hand-in-hand with federal researchers and regulators on design validation.

We commend you and your staff for recognizing the enormous positive potential that advanced nuclear, including fusion, holds in the United States and for offering thoughtful, bipartisan legislation to move the industry forward. We hope that H.R. 4084 will be offered for floor consideration soon and offer our support to help move the bill to final passage. We also look forward to working with your Committee on other fusion energy issues in the future. Please contact me with any questions. Sincerely, Richard C. Barth, Ph.D.,

Senior Vice President, Government Relations, Tri Alpha Energy. ____ January 22, 2016. Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman, Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Member, Hon. Randy Weber, Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Dear Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Johnson, Chairman Weber, and Senator Whitehouse, Senator Booker, and Senator Risch: On behalf of UPower Technologies, I am writing to commend your bipartisan leadership and foresight regarding the creation and passage of H.R. 4084 and the Senate companion which compose the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (the Act).

UPower Technologies, Inc., soon to become Oklo, Inc., is a funded advanced reactor startup based in Silicon Valley. We believe that what is good for all advanced nuclear is what's best for the individual companies as well, and in turn what is best for the industry is best for the nation. Each entity in the advanced nuclear industry requires a high-functioning network of a diversity of companies, manufacturers, labs, suppliers, regulators, investors, and other expertise in order to thrive. And the United States will require this home-grown industry to be an international leader in clean energy, to provide high-paying, long-term jobs, and to provide clean power in a safe and reliable manner. Your commendable work on the Nuclear Innovation Capabilities Act will support these important U.S. goals.

The Act is a start to look critically at potential ways that the U.S. government can be more efficient both in utilizing its vast, existing investments in infrastructure and expertise, and in removing unreasonable blocks to American innovation.

The Act begins to lay out an important framework and focus for the Department of Energy (DOE) regarding advanced nuclear, especially regarding its relationship to industry. While the DOE has many resources in place, such as a wealth of valuable advanced codes and computational resources, a congressional mandate to focus on making these resources more accessible, cost effective, and utilized could make both the DOE complex and the advanced reactor industry more vibrant.

The Act also requires the DOE to consider locations for nuclear fueled advanced reactor testing. It will be critical as this process proceeds to ensure that locations for implementations are not limited among the various potential DOE sites and that fees and contracting are in line with reasonable costs and not compensating for irrelevant or excessive overhead.

The Act institutes a focus on having a fast reactor resource within the DOE complex. It will be a valuable asset to both the DOE and the industry.

The laudable goal of the Act is to streamline U.S. technology development to commercialization. As such, it will be critically important that the DOE work as seamlessly as possible with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as far as providing data and allowing for the licensing activities required for commercialization, so that there need not be a duplication of nuclear-fueled implementations--possibly an exorbitant cost for any startup to survive.

The Act also asks the NRC for a report on timeline expectations for advanced reactor licensing. From the perspective of current or future advanced nuclear startup companies, an official report on timelines creates better certainty for private investment. This is potentially a very valuable provision to encourage private investment to further this relatively new U.S. industry. We also encourage continued dialog between the NRC, industry, and other stakeholders regarding how the regulatory process can benefit from significant advances in safety, further reducing uncertainty and accelerating deployment of safe, clean energy.

In summary, we support H.R. 4084 and the accompanying Senate bill. We appreciate the focus it brings to key areas to utilize U.S. investments and infrastructure to enhance U.S. innovation in clean energy. We also look forward to future legislation which may add appropriation and clarification of public-private contracting to further enable American innovation. UPower Technologies stands ready to support these important advances in U.S. energy leadership. Sincerely, Jacob DeWitte,

CEO and founder, UPower Technologies, Inc. (changing to Oklo, Inc.), Sunnyvale, CA.

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