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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
Suhas Bhandarkar, Ted Baumann, Noel Alfonso, Cliff Thomas, Kevin Baker, Alastair Moore, Cindy Larson, Don Bennett, John Sain, Abbas Nikroo
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 73 | Number 2 | March 2018 | Pages 194-209
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1406248
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Low-density foam liners are seen as a means to mitigate hohlraum wall motion that can interfere with the inner set of beams that are pointed toward the middle section of the hohlraum. These liners need to meet several requirements, most notably the material choice and the maximum allowable solid fraction and thickness, which necessitate development of new processing capabilities. Here, we discuss our strategy and work on fabrication of a tantalum oxide foam liner and its assembly into targets for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In particular, we discuss our approach to finding solutions to the unique challenges that come up in working with such low-density materials so as to be able establish a viable platform for production of cryogenic targets for NIF with foam-lined hohlraums.