North Carolina Collaboratory is funding a future of advanced reactors

This graphic from NAC’s “North Carolina Nuclear Energy Industry Workforce Development White Paper” shows data on the economic impact of nuclear energy on the state. (Image: E4 Carolinas)

Since its authorization in 2016, the collaboratory has stewarded about $225 million in appropriations from the state legislature that have been invested in more than 600 research projects (including nuclear) taking place at several universities that are part of the University of North Carolina System.

The initial focus of the collaboratory was environmental and natural resources research. However, the scope has expanded to include research into public health, education, technology, and infrastructure. “Next-generation energy” is among the collaboratory’s subjects of interest. It has supported many energy-related projects over the past several years, including efforts to make the grid more resilient. In the 2023 state budget, the assembly invested $15 million for next-generation energy research (including funds for collaboratory projects), specifically mentioning the target areas of SMRs; hydrogen storage, production, and transportation; and grid modeling for power generation, storage, and distribution.

SMR simulator project

Concept art of a GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR plant. (Image: GE Hitachi)

A collaboratory-funded SMR simulator project is underway at North Carolina State University to create a digital simulator based on GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 that will be able to replicate the generic passive boiling water reactor–based SMR through interactive and visualization features. It also will serve as a tool to highlight key SMR technology concepts associated with the plant’s safety, efficiency, and adaptability.

Key features will showcase advanced SMR technology concepts such as natural circulation, simplicity in design, smaller core and higher neutron leakage, and enhanced inherent passive safety features. It also will demonstrate an SMR plant’s efficiency and adaptability to provide clean, flexible energy generation that is cost-competitive with natural gas–fired plants.

Ivanov

The SMR simulation will focus on baseload and load-following electricity generation in a safe and economical manner. “Deploying cost-competitive new SMRs is critical for moving to a low-carbon economy with significantly reduced overall cost,” said Kostadin Ivanov, NCSU Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering and ANS Fellow. “The simulator will also showcase utilizing simple natural phenomena–driven safety systems in the most important design and beyond-design-based transient scenarios.”

NCSU has plans to use the simulator as part of advanced nuclear energy additions and modifications to existing undergraduate and graduate education programs, according to Ivanov. Simulator-based modules will help students understand unique features of SMRs. Several simulator-based class sessions also will be developed and incorporated as part of the course curriculum within the four-year nuclear engineering B.S. program at NCSU, as well as in some graduate courses.

A joint effort

The development of the simulator is a teaming effort between NCSU and GEH. NCSU will serve as the lead principal investigator, with GEH as co-PI. “The partnership between academia and the nuclear industry serves to bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical application,” said Ivanov. “This partnership serves as a framework linking academic knowledge, extensive research experience, and practical industry insights for a balanced yet comprehensive approach to carry out the project.”

The NCSU team will design the simulator and will benchmark and incorporate specific parameters about the BWRX-300 design provided by GEH. The “benchmark” for the project is a nonconfidential BWR-based SMR target that “will serve a dual purpose: it will verify the simulator’s accuracy and will be used for verifying SMR analysis tools as well as estimating their prediction uncertainties,” Ivanov explained.

A cross section of the BWRX-300 SMR. (Image: GE Hitachi)

The simulator is poised to bridge gaps in current knowledge and resources on light water SMRs. GEH will provide feedback on activities and results to address these gaps, while NCSU, with guidance from GEH, will introduce the comprehensive multistep, multiphysics simulator for the BWRX-300, serving as a reference for applying, verifying, and quantifying models and simulations.

In addition, by examining both steady-state and transient scenarios, the simulator will inform the design, operation, and regulatory approval, which are pivotal aspects for industry partners. GEH will assist in interpreting simulator results and helping clarify insights gained.

Further, since one of the goals of the project is to develop a generic boiling water SMR simulator that can be used by students, researchers, and industry partners inside and outside of the United States, care is being taken to use only nonproprietary and non–export-controlled information in the development of the models and benchmarks. As such, all the fuel, plant, and core design parameters are from openly published technical sources.

Education and training relationships

The simulator will not just be for the university—GEH employees also will have access for teaching and training purposes. GEH is also developing its own proprietary version of the simulator for use with customers who are part of a BWRX-300 consortium and who plan to build and operate an SMR plant.

Beyond the SMR simulator’s use by NCSU and GEH, it will be made available to a wider audience. “We will be engaging with high schools and community college technical programs, as well as the general public, to demonstrate the value of SMR simulators in training and education,” Ivanov said. “NCSU has already established education and outreach relationships with the local high schools and community colleges, which will be expanded and enhanced further by using the SMR simulator.”

Education and training relationships have been established by NCSU with technical schools in North Carolina, such as Wake Technical and Cape Fear community colleges. The university is also collaborating with faculty and students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to use and test the simulator interfaces.

Simulators are the main method used by the nuclear industry to familiarize, educate, and train nuclear specialists, including building the advanced SMR nuclear energy workforce and training the next generation of engineers and scientists for various STEM-based careers, according to Ivanov. “Our work will serve as a valuable educational resource, aiding in the training of future scientists and engineers in the field of advanced technologies capable of providing affordable, reliable, safe, and secure energy,” he said. “This will also attract more interest and visibility for research organizations, academia, industry, and regulatory agencies regarding U.S. nuclear energy technology, and it will help in establishing confidence and public acceptance for utilizing such technology in the United States and abroad.”

Workforce assessment project

Stover

Another collaboratory-funded project focuses on nuclear workforce assessment. Ivanov and Craig Stover, the Electric Power Research Institute’s program manager for advanced nuclear technology, are serving as PIs. In Stover’s words, “This project aims to investigate the job needs to help enable new nuclear development and deployment in the state of North Carolina, but it would be relevant also to neighboring states, which are part of the same regional workforce network.”

Rea

The idea for the workforce project was prompted by a document prepared by the Nuclear Advisory Council (NAC) under the leadership of its cofounder and chair emeritus, Steve Rea. “North Carolina Nuclear Energy Industry Workforce Development White Paper,” published in spring of 2024, brought the impending needs for the nuclear industry workforce to the attention of leaders in the state. “It helped galvanize the industry and state to find funds to build out a more detailed plan document. Enter the funding from the North Carolina Collaboratory for the NCSU/EPRI proposal,” said Rea.

The recommendations in the white paper that are being explored by the workforce assessment project include the following:

Adopt an integrated approach to bring nuclear science to students at every level, including K-12, community colleges, and universities.

Promote and support the deployment of the K-12 Navigating Nuclear curriculum from the American Nuclear Society, in conjunction with Discovery Education and the Department of Energy.

Educate K-12 students to elevate the profile of construction trade careers.

Communicate with the education community on clean energy design, manufacturing, operations, and service sector growth and needs.

Consider the tools, programs, and processes of the construction/engineering/staffing solutions company Day & Zimmermann for examples of best practices in craft training, hiring, and retention.

Present pathways for veterans to learn and/or update their craft skills that the nuclear energy industry considers in-demand.

Convene forums that include educators and industry representatives for information exchange and learning opportunities about nuclear’s present and future.

Use digital construction techniques to collect real-time field data on construction, inspection, and management of SMRs and other advanced reactors.

Forecast the personnel needs for both existing nuclear plants and the anticipated industry growth.

Get the word out—domestically and internationally—that high-tech businesses are welcome in North Carolina.

NCSU-EPRI partnership

Ivanov explained how NCSU and EPRI are collaborating on the workforce assessment project. “EPRI is planning on making several visits to NCSU to assess the workforce job and task needs related to the current NCSU research reactor (PULSTAR) as well as to the advanced Research and Test Reactor (RTR) that is envisioned to be built at NCSU in the future, and this assessment will be applied to the needs of the electric power industry,” he said.

“Collaboration will be necessary to successfully conduct an advanced reactor workforce needs assessment. The efforts of the NCSU Nuclear Engineering Department to build and operate an advanced research, test, and training reactor—coupled with key workforce pipeline relationships in North Carolina and existing efforts at EPRI related to workforce development—can support the execution of a workforce needs assessment in North Carolina for the next generation of nuclear reactors.”

Ivanov added that the NCSU-EPRI partnership will use different resources to accomplish the broad scope of work, including the existing nuclear reactor facility at NCSU, the project for establishing the advanced RTR at the NCSU campus, the EPRI Nuclear Training and Development program, and new nuclear stakeholders—organizations associated with establishing advanced nuclear. Other stakeholders participating in the collaboration include the state’s university and community college systems, construction and vendor organizations, and professional and technical training organizations.

Practical uses of the report

The final workforce assessment project report is expected to be ready in October 2026, according to Ivanov. It will be given to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, the General Assembly, the North Carolina Collaboratory, and utility Duke Energy, among other stakeholders.

The project will have two main deliverables: a database containing training requirements for job types and a report outlining various stakeholders, training needs, and ways the report can be used to support new nuclear deployment in North Carolina.

EPRI plans to use the findings from the project as the basis of a workforce blueprint for other states to follow. In North Carolina, there are five nuclear reactors operating at three sites. The neighboring states of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee also have large nuclear power facilities, creating a network for regional workforce training and qualification. To support the future fleet, this network will need to expand not just in numbers but also in new knowledge, skills, and behaviors due to the unique and evolving requirements—construction, operations, and maintenance—associated with advanced reactors.

“As new nuclear sites spread out across North Carolina and the neighboring states, prerequisite knowledge will need to be more readily available and potentially taught in K-12 and the community college network,” Stover said. “Given this impact on the workforce supply chain, collaboration with K-12 education, community colleges and trade schools, state universities, workforce providers, nonprofits, and utilities should be enhanced through existing groups with a specific focus on expanding and enhancing the regional workforce training and qualification network.”

The benefits of the project could extend beyond U.S. borders. “EPRI is also working internationally to enable new nuclear development, including support for workforce development in new and emerging nuclear power nations,” Stover said. “This project will allow North Carolina to be a leader in international efforts to deploy new nuclear facilities and ensure that a competent workforce exists for all phases of these highly important projects.”

The support of Rea and NAC

Rea, an NCSU alumnus who serves as a nuclear energy industry advisor to the university, has been a key supporter of North Carolina Collaboratory activities and is also responsible for the creation of the NCSU Advanced Reactor and SMR Technologies Library Collection through donations made between 2015 and 2020 by the Stephen and Phyllis Rea Endowment for Mechanical Engineering Collections.

Rae cofounded NAC with Ivanov, who was then head of NCSU’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. Ivanov currently serves as head of the department’s Reactor Dynamics and Fuel Modeling Group and is a member of the steering committee of the NCSU Advanced Research and Test Reactor Feasibility Study, which is focused on establishing a new advanced research and test reactor at NCSU.