b'Technology INNOVATION & DEPLOYMENTINLs research, development and deployment are critical in building U.S. competitiveness and leadership, and in meeting national goals for energy, security, economic development and environmental stewardship. The laboratorys calling card must be outstanding scientific and technical impacts such as those highlighted here.Celebrating InnovationLeading Microreactor Work2019INL researchers received accoladesINL is working with Alaska, the Defense in numerous technology innovationDepartment and private industry to competitions during 2019. The labdevelop and demonstrate microreactors, won a Federal Laboratory Consortiumsmall nuclear reactors that could be built national award in the Technology Focusin a factory and transported in a shipping category for small-scale waste-to-energycontainer to just about anywhere in the FINALIST technologies that INL transitioned toworld. Potential sites include remote Cogent Energy Systems. INL also hadAlaskan villages, federal installations eight finalists and four winners in theand commercial facilities that might 2019 R&D 100 Award competition,benefit from a power source that could sometimes called the Oscars oflast for decades with minimal fuss.Innovation.The small size and advanced At the annual Idaho Innovation Awards,technologies will allow such reactors Dr. Henry Chu, INLs chief technologyto operate safely with few workers, on officer of Defense Systems for Nationala small footprint and with very little & Homeland Security, won Innovatormaintenance. Passive safety systems and of the Year. INLs Advanced Electrolytehigh-performance materials markedly Model was a finalist for Commercializedreduce the chance of an accident. Most Innovation of the Year, and Wirelessmicroreactor designs would arrive on radio Frequency signal Identificationsite fully sealed with all the fuel needed and protocol Reverse Engineering, orto operate for the life of the reactor.WiFIRE, was a finalist for Early-Stage Innovation of the Year.Measuring Core Temperatures Tomorrows nuclear plants will generate Most notably, INL had more winninghigh heat for advanced manufacturing, proposals than any other national labhydrogen production and desalination. for Technology CommercializationAs a result, critical temperatures, such as Funds awarded by DOEs Office ofthose within the protective fuel cladding, Technology Transitions. The fundsmust be measured accurately and promote promising energy technologiesreliably. Yet extreme heat and especially across DOEs national labs. INL had 13radiation have made direct sensor winning proposals in 2019. readings of nuclear fuel temperatures impossible to obtain over extended periods.16'