Nuclear and Advanced Energy - Oak Ridge Economic Development Initiative

Innovation, Manufacturing, and Movement.

The Oak Ridge Technology Corridor is a place that brings the triple-threat advantage to companies who locate here.

As an original site for the Manhattan Project that launched the U.S. into the Atomic Age, the Oak Ridge community has uniquely supported the development of advanced energy in their backyard.

The nuclear industry has uniquely found a welcome home in the Oak Ridge community, with recent major projects and initiatives such as new small modular reactor projects coming online to advanced fusion reactor developments at the Oak Ridge National Labs, as well as other private and public developments.

See The Power Oak Ridge Provides To The Energy Sector

Featured Video

The Oak Ridge Corridor: No Better Place

Oak Ridge Energy Sector Advantages

Cooperative Research and Development

DOE’s Technology Transfer Working Group offers a guide and other resources when it comes to cooperative research and other opportunities such as technology licensing and commercialization agreements. A guide is available with more information.

The GAIN initiative is a public-private partnership established by the U.S. Department of Energy and operates out of Idaho National Laboratory. We facilitate access to the technical, regulatory and financial support needed to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies.

As technologies move closer to commercialization, GAIN is also evolving to support organizations (states, utilities, communities) who are new to nuclear and interested in learning more. Our focus is to engage with state and local leaders to understand their needs first. GAIN can connect them with national lab resources to help understand how nuclear energy might serve their needs in the future. Learn more >

GAIN’s Mission: Provide the nuclear energy industry with access to the technical, regulatory, and financial support necessary to move innovative nuclear energy technologies toward commercialization in an accelerated and cost-effective fashion while helping communities with clean energy transitions.

Oak Ridge Energy Sector Advantages

Supporting Nuclear

Few places support the nuclear industry like the Oak Ridge Innovation Corridor. Kairos Power announced a new development spot in 2021 to be housed inside the Oak Ridge Community for its advanced modular nuclear reactor.

Oak Ridge Energy Sector Advantages

Federal Investments in Science & Security

The strong Department of Energy presence in Oak Ridge creates more than $7 billion in economic benefits and nearly 43,000 full-time jobs, according to a 2020 FY report from the East Tennessee Economic Council.

chevron_left

chevron_right

The Economic Impact of the Nuclear Industry in the Southeast United States

The Southeastern United States is a leader in domestic nuclear energy production. Approximately 37 percent of net electricity production in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia comes from nuclear power, which is higher than in virtually all other U.S. states and is also higher than the U.S. average of approximately 19 percent.