Texas A&M University is beginning the licensing process for potential sites at Texas A&M-RELLIS in Bryan, Texas, for multiple companies to test and construct the next generation of nuclear reactors - and says it will be the only higher education institution with a commercial reactor site licence in the USA.

(Image: Texas A&M-RELLIS/X)

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has agreed to notify the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the plan by submission of a letter of intent, which it says marks the beginning of a licensing process. "Reactor companies will benefit from the A&M System taking on the licensing burden," the university said. "The result will be a shorter path to getting their reactors up and running."

This "test-bed" supporting multiple reactors from various companies, could put additional power into the state's energy grid at a time of high demand, said John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System. He described the Texas A&M System - a statewide network of 11 universities - as "the missing piece of the puzzle" for the development of small modular reactors (SMRs).

The Texas A&M System has already gathered proposals from nuclear reactor companies that hope to construct reactors at Texas A&M-RELLIS, and said negotiations are expected to begin soon. There might also be additional opportunities for organisations "to take advantage of the A&M System's site for nuclear testing and the manufacturing of modular reactors", it said. It will announce the companies that are selected to carry out testing at Texas A&M-RELLIS "after negotiations are complete".

Texas A&M University is home to the largest nuclear engineering department of any university in the USA and the A&M System helps manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Pantex nuclear weapons plant. The TRIGA research reactor at the university's Nuclear Engineering & Science Center's celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021

"From the people, to the land, to the enthusiasm to innovate, the Texas A&M System has everything we need to help the country meet its clean energy needs," Sharp said.