Nuclear Energy Research, Development and Demonstration (81.121)
Nuclear Energy Research, Development and Demonstration (Assistance Listing 81.121) is run by the Department of Energy. It awarded $3.2 billion in 464 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $7.0 million per award on average. 5 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.
The typical award was $640,000. Half of the 464 awards fell between $319,381 and $900,000, and they ranged from $3,197 to $983 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$3.2 billion
- Grant awards464
- Typical award$640,000
- Awarded in FY 2025$1.1 billion
- Size rank120 of 1,823
- Type of assistanceProject grants (cooperative agreements)
Key findings
- Annual funding rose from $476 million in fiscal 2021 to $1.1 billion in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 120th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 93% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 41 states and territories.
What the program funds
The Department of Energy (DOE) promotes nuclear energy as a resource capable of meeting the nation's energy, environmental, and national security needs by resolving technical, cost, safety, security, and proliferation resistance through research, development and demonstration at our national laboratories, universities and colleges, and U.S. industry. Our financial assistance programs play a key role in helping the DOE accomplish its mission of leading the nation's investment in the development and exploration of advanced nuclear technology and its underlying sciences. With this financial assistance, DOE strives to stimulate nuclear science and engineering education through support of advanced research and by training the next generation nuclear energy workforce, while seeking to align the nuclear energy research being conducted at U.S. colleges and universities with DOE’s mission and goals.
Open opportunities
- Advanced Nuclear Energy Licensing Cost-Share Grant Program
- Silcon Carbide Cladding Lead Test Rod Development-Phase 1
- University Nuclear Leadership Program– Scholarship and Fellowship Support
- RFI - DOE R
- RFI - DOE Infrastructure Work Scope Development
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Federal, State, local governments, universities, consortia, nonprofit institutions, commercial corporations, and individuals may apply.
What the money can and cannot pay for
Financial assistance, opportunities are defined in individual solicitations available on the DOE website, NEUP.gov, or Grants.gov. Notices published on Grants.gov define research, development, and demonstration areas that the Department intends to support such as: advanced reactors, fuel and reactor concepts that minimize proliferation risks, nuclear fuel and fuel cycles, advanced instrumentation, controls, simulation, modeling and analyses, nuclear waste management, construction, manufacturing and fabrication technologies, and related fundamental nuclear science areas in materials, reactor physics, chemistry, radiochemistry, health physics, and thermal hydraulics and fluid dynamics. Notices published on Grants.gov define development or demonstration projects and study areas activities that the Department intends to support such as: advanced designs, technologies or techniques, new regulatory or licensing requirements, and economic analyses. For a given solicitation, financial assistance may be available in whole or in part, for the following in support of nuclear energy research and related fields in development and demonstration activities: salaries, materials and supplies, equipment, travel, publication costs, subcontractor and supporting costs required for technical activities, market analyses, financing plans and other activities necessary to achieve the objective. Restrictions on use of funds depend on solicitation and award provisions.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Award range and average, in the agency's words
The range of awards vary per funding opportunity and depends on available program funding. Information on awards is published in the Funding Opportunity Announcements and can be found on the NEUP.gov or Grants.gov website. For example, Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) awards typically range from $400,000 to $1,000,000; however, they can be more or less, as described in the FOA. NEUP R&D awards are capped at $1,000,000, whereas IRP awards can exceed $1,000,000, based upon the program's R&D focus and available funds. NEUP R&D awards with Nuclear Science User Facility (NSUF) access vary in that they can be funded both by DOE award and with NSUF resources and funding. Infrastructure awards greater than $250,000 require the university to share costs, calculated as a percentage of the amount over the $250,000 threshold. For IUP, Fellowship awards are typically $175,000 and Scholarship awards are $10,000 per student attending four-year colleges/universities and $5,000 per student attending trade schools and community colleges.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2016: Similar to previous years See the NE Web site at http://energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energyFiscal Year2018: Similar to previous yearsFiscal Year2022: The NEUP.gov website is updated regularly with information on financial assistance to universities and colleges through Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) to stimulate and guide advanced nuclear energy research and to support students pursuing nuclear energy related disciplines at universities and colleges across the country. The website offers facts on prior awards, reporting information, and upcoming funding opportunity announcements (FOA). The programs covered in this website include the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) and Integrated University Program (IUP). NEUP has three R&D elements: Integrated Research Projects (IRP), NEUP R&D, and Infrastructure. IRPs cover large, collaborative, university-led projects, addressing near-term needs of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's (NE) research and development (R&D) programs. NEUP R&D projects are university led projects that focus on more general and longer term R&D, guided by NE's programs. And Infrastructure support, including upgrades to university research reactors and general scientific infrastructure capabilities, advances the R&D and educational missions of universities.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Nuclear Energy Research, Development and Demonstration (81.121) awarded $3.2 billion across 464 grant awards, an average of $7.0 million per award.
| Recipient | State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Us SFR Owner LLC | Washington | 1 | $983 million |
| X Energy, LLC | Maryland | 4 | $931 million |
| CFPP LLC | Utah | 1 | $232 million |
| Nuscale Power LLC | Oregon | 1 | $178 million |
| Holtec Government Services LLC | New Jersey | 2 | $106 million |
| Framatome Inc | Virginia | 2 | $97.3 million |
| Ge Vernova Operations LLC | New York | 2 | $86.8 million |
| Westinghouse Electric Company LLC | Pennsylvania | 3 | $84.2 million |
| Southern Company Services, Inc. | Alabama | 2 | $71.1 million |
| Constellation Energy Generation, LLC | Pennsylvania | 2 | $67.3 million |
| General Atomics | California | 4 | $60.2 million |
| Advanced Reactor Concepts, LLC | Virginia | 1 | $20.2 million |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Michigan | 18 | $19.0 million |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts | 19 | $17.9 million |
| University of Wisconsin System | Wisconsin | 24 | $16.5 million |
| North Carolina State University | North Carolina | 21 | $14.7 million |
| University of Illinois | Illinois | 15 | $12.6 million |
| University of Tennessee | Tennessee | 10 | $12.2 million |
| The Pennsylvania State University | Pennsylvania | 18 | $11.9 million |
| Energy Harbor Corp. | Ohio | 1 | $10.6 million |
Who usually wins
Businesses received 55% of the money, small businesses 29% and nonprofits 8.1%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 29 | $1.8 billion | 55% |
| Small businesses | 13 | $941 million | 29% |
| Nonprofits | 20 | $263 million | 8.1% |
| Colleges and universities | 391 | $254 million | 7.8% |
| Other | 7 | $4.3 million | 0.1% |
| State and local governments | 4 | $1.5 million | less than 0.1% |
By state
36 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 9 | $986 million |
| Maryland | 12 | $937 million |
| Utah | 14 | $238 million |
| Oregon | 13 | $184 million |
| Pennsylvania | 31 | $168 million |
| Virginia | 16 | $131 million |
| New Jersey | 4 | $107 million |
| New York | 20 | $99.8 million |
| California | 23 | $81.7 million |
| Alabama | 7 | $73.3 million |
| Illinois | 23 | $26.4 million |
| Texas | 35 | $20.8 million |
| Michigan | 18 | $19.0 million |
| Massachusetts | 23 | $18.9 million |
| Tennessee | 16 | $16.8 million |
| Wisconsin | 24 | $16.5 million |
| Ohio | 13 | $16.0 million |
| North Carolina | 22 | $15.2 million |
| South Carolina | 13 | $11.5 million |
| Indiana | 16 | $9.2 million |
| Colorado | 13 | $8.6 million |
| Florida | 16 | $8.1 million |
| Georgia | 10 | $7.7 million |
| Nevada | 10 | $7.3 million |
| Idaho | 6 | $5.0 million |
| District of Columbia | 4 | $4.8 million |
| Missouri | 11 | $4.2 million |
| Arizona | 4 | $3.6 million |
| New Mexico | 9 | $3.4 million |
| Kentucky | 5 | $3.0 million |
| Minnesota | 2 | $2.8 million |
| Oklahoma | 1 | $2.6 million |
| Kansas | 5 | $2.4 million |
| Mississippi | 4 | $2.1 million |
| Wyoming | 2 | $1.1 million |
| Iowa | 2 | $1.0 million |
| Connecticut | 2 | $960,000 |
| Nebraska | 1 | $799,823 |
| Alaska | 1 | $750,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | $248,711 |
| Rhode Island | 2 | $139,615 |