TRUNZO: Hi, this is Alisa Trunzo with the Office of Nuclear Energy and I'm here with
Dr. Katy Huff, our brand new assistant secretary for nuclear energy.
Welcome back Katy.
HUFF: Thank you.
TRUNZO: We're super excited to talk with you today.
I think everybody kind of wants to know what's on Dr. Huff's mind as you transition into
this role.
First up, I think what everybody kind of wants to know is what are your top priorities in
managing the office's R&D portfolio?
We've got a big budget request upcoming in Fiscal Year 23.
We've requested $1.7 billion.
So, everybody wants to hear what you're what you're focused on.
HUFF: I agree.
I think these priorities are the hot topic right now and for us it's we need to maintain
the existing nuclear fleet, keep them healthy, and enable light-water reactors to sustain
our carbon-free transition.
We also need to build out advanced reactors and I think we have a lot of programs that
target that, both from the R&D side but also in demonstration and deployment, particularly
through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
Ofcourse I do think that none of it will be sustainable unless we put sufficient attention
towards our spent nuclear fuel challenges and ensure that the government is making progress
on its commitments to manage responsibly the spent nuclear fuel.
TRUNZO: Well, since you brought up spent nuclear fuel, in your time as the principal deputy
assistant secretary for nuclear energy, you spearheaded the restart of the consent-based
siting process, specifically for federal interim storage facilities.
Why is this an important step forward for us?
HUFF: Well, first of all, it's our responsibility.
The federal government is responsible for managing this spent nuclear fuel and the industry
has paid a mil per kilowatt-hour for a very long time to support that endeavor and so
I'm a big fan of living up to your commitments.
By making progress toward consent-based siting for an interim storage facility we can take
on the responsibility of removing that spent nuclear fuel from the sites at which it's
been abandoned.
But broadly, I think this is a start that has a lot of roots in processes that have
succeeded else where and I think by leveraging a strategy that's a consent-based strategy
for siting these facilities, we have a real chance of succeeding this time and we can
rely on the things that we've learned before, as well as what's been learned internationally
about making these sites work.
TRUNZO: Prior to your confirmation, you were just advising the secretary as a senior advisor
to Secretary Granholm at a really important time, in particular, during Russia’s invasion
in Ukraine.
How has this conflict impacted the civil nuclear programs here at home as well as globally?
HUFF: Well, I think you know, first of all, it's been really stunning to see the images
coming out of Ukraine over the course of the last few months have been deeply impactful
and distressing.
As a democratic nation, we should be concerned for the safety and security of all democratic
nations.
In the events that we've seen, I think we should be worried about the future of our
democracies being secure.
One of the key components of this is energy security and I think the biggest and most
important component here is that nuclear power provides a clean option that also has some
energy security associated with it.
By being a highly dense energy source that's refueled very seldomly, we have an opportunity
to you know bring up that supply chain in such a way that it's robust, it doesn't require
constant attention, shipments, pipelines etc.
But, we do need to bolster that supply chain.
You know, we recognize now that we have, over the last many years and decades, allowed other
competitor nations to play a role in the supply chains for our fuels including nuclear fuel
and this is an opportunity for the United States to bolster the security of those supply
chains for us, as well as our democratic allies.
TRUNZO: So, since you mentioned the supply chain, U.S. sanctions on Russia could really
impact the nation's ability to acquire enough enriched uranium for the current fleet, as
well as for new advanced reactor demonstration projects.
What is DOE going to do to ensure they can meet the fuel demand?
HUFF: The secretary has stood up a really important endeavor—a uranium strategy tiger
team that the Office of Nuclear Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration
are working together on.
That tiger team is focused on enabling a strategy that can give a comprehensive look at where
our fuel cycle supply chain stands and how the DOE can bolster it.
Our goal here is to ensure that in the very near term we have a plan, if Congress decides
to appropriate funding and authorities to do so, we have a plan to help encourage our
existing commercial nuclear fuel cycle suppliers to stand up new capacity and enable our fuel
supply chain.
TRUNZO: I’d like to turn a little bit to the existing fleet, which is so important
to our clean energy goals.
DOE’S brand new Civil Nuclear Credit Program is now accepting the first round of applications
to support continued operation of U.S. reactors.
How impactful do you think this program could be?
HUFF: This program is absolutely critical.
Nuclear power provides half of our nation's clean electricity and it is the single largest
source of our clean electricity and given this, we cannot allow these plants to be economically
at risk because we failed to recognize their important contributions to our clean energy
system, to our firm energy capacity, and our energy resilience in this nation.
Once a nuclear plant closes, it can be very hard to start it back up again so we really
just cannot allow them to close in the context in which we need them and more nuclear to
meet our climate goals.
TRUNZO: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes more than $2.5 billion dollars
to support the demonstration of two advanced reactors in the United States and at least
one nuclear hydrogen demo project.
How important are these projects to the future of the industry?
HUFF: The two demo projects and the hydrogen demonstrations are the future of the industry.
You know, as we look at those technologies being demonstrated here in the United States,
they create the opportunity for the second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-of-a-kind to be
built, not only here in the United States, but elsewhere with our democratic partners
interested in expanding their nuclear capacity.
We're really in a place too where long-term, high-quality energy storage can really be
enabled by hydrogen production and a hydrogen economy, which only the government really
has the power to stand up significant infrastructure like that and this is the infrastructure of
the future.
If we want to enable nuclear and enable renewables to work together on a clean energy grid, hydrogen
is going to be absolutely necessary.
A demonstration that incorporates nuclear can also potentially leverage the incredible,
unique, high-heat capacities that nuclear power can enable.
Heat plus electrons is a great way to create hydrogen and can be an excellent demonstration
of what's possible with nuclear.
TRUNZO: As you're talking about advanced nuclear and different applications for nuclear energy,
nuclear is on the agenda to be in the clean energy conversation at several high-profile
international events this year.
That includes the Nuclear Power Ministerial and the Clean Energy Ministerial, both being
held in the United States this time around.
What role do you see for nuclear energy in the global efforts to combat climate change?
HUFF: This is a fantastic moment for the United States to reclaim global nuclear energy leadership.
We're really in a position to lead in the conversations, the bilateral and multilateral
engagements that will come out of these meetings, and in the incentives that we can see broadly
for energy security and the carbon transition worldwide.
If the United States can reclaim that leadership, these venues: the Clean Energy Ministerial,
Nuclear Power Ministerial, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference,
and even COP 27, all places where these messages can be communicated by a leading entity like
the United States and our ability to lead in this way and lead the conversation, really
can't be understated.
TRUNZO: Turning a bit more toward home, you helped create a new funding line in the congressional
budget for nuclear R&D at U.S. universities and colleges.
I'm sure that your experience as a professor and in academia helps you have a great perspective
on this, but what does this really mean for the university research community moving forward?
HUFF: There is nothing more important to me personally than education.
Making sure that this university R&D line has its own particular place in our budget,
really highlights its importance and enables us to think critically about bigger problems
and to sort of enable bigger solutions.
I think we're in a position now where, with the legislative requirement that we try to
reach up to 20% of our R&D funding directed towards that university directed line…you
know to the maximum extent practical, this can allow us to really, underpin the future
workforce, whether it's at universities and colleges or you know even community colleges
and trade schools.
We're in a position to make sure that the future is bright and that lots of folks are
encouraged to do nuclear engineering degrees and nuclear energy-related degrees in research.
It's really going to enable bright ideas to come out of the university.
Those ideas can be picked up by the national laboratories that can bring those bright ideas
and creative high-risk, high-reward concepts into fruition and then the industry can pick
up the down selected ideas from the national laboratories.
This is how innovation should work and making it its own line really enables us to focus
on that and think bigger.
TRUNZO: There's so many opportunities and exciting things going on in nuclear right
now but what do you think is the biggest challenge?
HUFF: I think the biggest challenge for nuclear energy right now is to ensure that when we
build a new project it's on time and on budget as much as possible.
Here in the United States, we have lost a lot of capability to build big complex engineering
projects on time and on budget.
I do think that this is a moment for us to seize an opportunity and demonstrate that
we still can do this because the investors and financial interests, ready to put dollars
on the table for our clean energy transition, they need to see some predictability in those
timelines and budgets and I think that's an opportunity that nuclear really could hold
in its hand if we can see these new demonstration projects come through as expected in a predictable
way.
TRUNZO: So you're brand new stepping into this role but looking toward the future, what
accomplishment would you really like to be known for?
What legacy do you want to leave behind here at DOE?
HUFF: It’s critically important to me, that very broadly, I be seen as a trusted scientist
leading some engagement for communities to realize a clean energy transition.
That seems very broad but, you know, I think, in this moment, it's engaging communities
and bringing them along with us towards an energy transition that's going to be absolutely
critical for all the changes we need to make well beyond nuclear and so I'm lucky to be
in this position as a nuclear engineer and I hope that that can engender some trust in
those communities and help me to guide them towards the energy future they want.
TRUNZO: And, because I know this is near and dear to your heart.
As a professor, what advice would you have for those who want to join a STEM field and
what are some of the opportunities, specifically within nuclear, for those interested in stem
careers?
HUFF: This is a great time to join nuclear energy.
It's not only in a growth period right now but, because of the bimodal distribution of
ages in nuclear energy, there are a lot more positions open in nuclear energy spaces, whether
it's startups, national laboratories, or here in DOE Office of Nuclear Energy.
We have opportunities where folks are retiring today who have incredible expertise that you
can learn from.
So, my advice is definitely to get into it whether it's as a nuclear engineer, as a communications
specialist, as a policy maker, or even a social scientist.
You can be involved in this nuclear energy growth period and I really think, getting
of a lot of education, understanding the challenges ahead of us, it should be clear the role that
nuclear energy can play and I hope folks can find a role for themselves in that space.