Chandrakanth Bolisetti

The conference theme is “Going Critical: Creating a Durable Nuclear Resurgence.” Plenary discussions address how technology, finance, and public policy can sustain nuclear energy momentum, and how public confidence, domestic supply chains, workforce development, investment, and state leadership can support deployment at scale. John Wagner, Laboratory Director at INL, is a featured speaker; the opening plenary also includes U.S. NRC Commissioners Douglas Weaver and Bradley Crowell. The technical program features expert-led presentations and peer-reviewed research on advanced reactors, fuel cycle and waste management, reactor physics, fusion, AI and machine learning, materials science, instrumentation and controls, criticality safety, and robotics. Named session topics include nuclear energy markets, financing and economics; hybrid and integrated energy systems; maritime and data center applications; nuclear safeguards; cybersecurity; molten salt reactor fuels and materials; and advanced/additive manufacturing. Panels address uranium mining remediation, environmental review, digital twins, advanced reactor fuel supply and fabrication, and nuclear deployment pathways.

INL, W.E. Gundy & Associates Inc. (WEGAI) Research, UC San Diego and project partners are conducting industry engagement around a full-scale HVPT shake table test. The program addresses seismic vulnerabilities and outage risk from large power transformer failure through full-scale seismic testing, advanced instrumentation and emerging resilience technologies. The Base Isolation Test covers final isolation sequences, conclusion of experimental runs and site cleanup, and is described as the nation’s first large-scale isolated transformer shake table test. The program also addresses transformer seismic response, mitigation technologies, standards, grid resilience and deployment pathways, with multi-directional, 6-degrees-of-freedom earthquake motions, a low-cost retrofittable bushing protection system, base-isolation evaluation and high-fidelity instrumentation. The intended audience includes utilities, transformer owners, manufacturers, researchers, emergency preparedness stakeholders and standards leaders. Test data will support resilient grid infrastructure in seismic regions.

The symposium brings together national laboratory researchers, university partners, industry professionals, and Department of Energy leadership to examine energy technology economic evaluation from early-stage feasibility through investment-ready financial models. Topics include techno-economic analysis fundamentals, tax-credit modeling, DOE perspectives on energy investment decisions, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, cost escalation, discounted cash-flow modeling, energy-market trend resources, critical-materials techno-economic analysis, proposal scope development, AI for techno-economic analysis, utility investment decision-making, analytical tools, and digital twins. The program includes nuclear cost estimation and economic modeling; critical materials and supply-chain economics; analytical frameworks, AI, and decision support; scaling, financing, and deploying nuclear; fuels, chemicals, and feedstock economics; and energy storage, thermal systems, and grid planning. Named sessions include “The Role of Decision Sciences for Energy Investment,” “Economics and Nuclear Energy,” “Techno-Economic Analysis of Nd-Rich Mischmetal Recovery from Idaho Soil,” “Sustainable Recovery of Critical Metals from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries Through Gluconic Acid-Based Bioleaching,” “Diversifying low-purity Ga Production Beyond China,” “Autonomous Design Optimization for Nuclear Energy,” “Pathways to Massively Scaling Nuclear Deployment in the United States,” and “Outlook for Nuclear Energy 2026.”