I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5260 
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Energy 
to carry out demonstration projects relating to advanced nuclear reactor 
technologies to support domestic energy needs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2018 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the 
Secretary of Energy to carry out demonstration projects 
relating to advanced nuclear reactor technologies to sup-
port domestic energy needs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Nuclear En-
ergy Technologies Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND DE-
VELOPMENT GOALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the En-
ergy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 
782) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 640. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND 
DEVELOPMENT GOALS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) 
ADVANCED
NUCLEAR
REACTOR.—The 
term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means a nuclear fis-
sion or fusion reactor, including a prototype plant 
(as defined in sections 50.2 and 52.1 of title 10, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula-
tions)), with significant improvements compared to 
commercial nuclear reactors under construction as of 
the date of enactment of this section, including im-
provements such as— 
‘‘(A) additional inherent safety features; 
‘‘(B) a significantly lower levelized cost of 
electricity; 
‘‘(C) lower waste yields; 
‘‘(D) improved fuel performance; 
‘‘(E) increased tolerance to loss of fuel 
cooling; 
‘‘(F) enhanced reliability; 
‘‘(G) increased proliferation resistance; 
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‘‘(H) increased thermal efficiency; 
‘‘(I) reduced consumption of cooling water; 
‘‘(J) the ability to integrate into electric 
applications and nonelectric applications; 
‘‘(K) modular sizes to allow for deployment 
that corresponds with the demand for elec-
tricity; or 
‘‘(L) operational flexibility to respond to 
changes in demand for electricity and to com-
plement integration with intermittent renewable 
energy. 
‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION
PROJECT.—The term 
‘demonstration project’ means an advanced nuclear 
reactor operated— 
‘‘(A) as part of the power generation facili-
ties of an electric utility system; or 
‘‘(B) in any other manner for the purpose 
of demonstrating the suitability for commercial 
application of the advanced nuclear reactor. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to di-
rect the Secretary, as soon as practicable after the date 
of enactment of this section, to advance the research and 
development of domestic advanced, affordable, and clean 
nuclear energy by— 
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‘‘(1) demonstrating different advanced nuclear 
reactor technologies that could be used by the pri-
vate sector to produce— 
‘‘(A) emission-free power at a cost of $65– 
$70 per mWh or less; 
‘‘(B) heat for industrial purposes or syn-
thetic fuel production; 
‘‘(C) remote or off-grid energy supply; or 
‘‘(D) backup or mission-critical power sup-
plies; 
‘‘(2) developing goals for nuclear energy re-
search programs that would accomplish the goals of 
the demonstration projects carried out under sub-
section (c); 
‘‘(3) identifying research areas that the private 
sector is unable or unwilling to undertake due to the 
cost of, or risks associated with, the research; and 
‘‘(4) facilitating the access of the private sec-
tor— 
‘‘(A) to Federal research facilities; and 
‘‘(B) to the results of research funded by 
the Federal Government. 
‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period begin-
ning on the date of enactment of this section and 
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ending on September 30, 2028, the Secretary shall, 
to the maximum extent practicable, enter into one or 
more agreements to carry out not fewer than 4 ad-
vanced nuclear reactor demonstration projects. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out dem-
onstration projects under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) seek to include diversity in designs 
for the advanced nuclear reactors demonstrated 
under this section, including designs using var-
ious primary coolants; 
‘‘(B) seek to ensure that— 
‘‘(i) the long-term cost of electricity or 
heat for each design to be demonstrated 
under this subsection is cost-competitive in 
the applicable market; and 
‘‘(ii) the cost-competitiveness of each 
design to be demonstrated under this sub-
section is verified by an external review of 
the proposed design; 
‘‘(C) enter into cost-sharing agreements 
with partners in accordance with section 988 
for the conduct of activities relating to the re-
search, development, and demonstration of pri-
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vate-sector advanced nuclear reactor designs 
under the program; 
‘‘(D) work with private sector partners to 
identify potential sites, including Department- 
owned sites, for demonstrations, as appropriate; 
and 
‘‘(E) align specific activities carried out 
under demonstration projects carried out under 
this subsection with priorities identified through 
direct consultations between— 
‘‘(i) the Department; 
‘‘(ii) National Laboratories; 
‘‘(iii) traditional end-users (such as 
electric utilities); 
‘‘(iv) potential end-users of new tech-
nologies (such as petrochemical compa-
nies); and 
‘‘(v) developers of advanced nuclear 
reactor technology. 
‘‘(d) GOALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish goals for research relating to advanced nuclear 
reactors facilitated by the Department that support 
the objectives of the program for demonstration 
projects established under subsection (c). 
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‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In developing the goals 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate, 
on an ongoing basis, with members of private indus-
try to advance the demonstration of various designs 
of advanced nuclear reactors. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the goals 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 
that— 
‘‘(A) research activities facilitated by the 
Department to meet the goals developed under 
this subsection are focused on key areas of nu-
clear research and deployment ranging from 
basic energy to full-design development, safety 
evaluation, and licensing; 
‘‘(B) research programs designed to meet 
the goals emphasize— 
‘‘(i) resolving materials challenges re-
lating to radiation damage or corrosive 
coolants; and 
‘‘(ii) qualification of advanced fuels; 
‘‘(C) activities are carried out that address 
near-term challenges in modeling and simula-
tion to enable accelerated design and licensing; 
‘‘(D) related technologies, such as electro-
chemical processing or fuel recycling that could 
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reduce nuclear waste volumes or half lives, are 
developed; 
‘‘(E) infrastructure, such as a versatile 
fast neutron source or molten salt testing facil-
ity, to aid in research are constructed; 
‘‘(F) basic knowledge of non-light water 
coolant physics and chemistry is improved; and 
‘‘(G) advanced manufacturing and con-
struction techniques and materials are inves-
tigated to reduce the commercialization cost of 
advanced nuclear reactors.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 
of contents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 
109–58; 119 Stat. 594) is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 639 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 640. Advanced nuclear reactor research and development goals.’’. 
Æ 
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