At the utah office of energy development, we are equipping our laboratories to research a variety of potential sustainable energy solutions such as advanced fossil fuel power, next generation…

The Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy awarded the Utah Office of Energy Development $1.865 million on May 1, 2026, under the Renewable Energy Research and Development program (CFDA 81.087) to acquire and deploy a HELIOS focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) for energy materials research.

The FIB-SEM will support microscopic-level characterization and verification of material integrity under extreme operating conditions across multiple advanced energy technology platforms, including next-generation nuclear power, advanced fossil fuel power systems, hydrogen applications, and nuclear-based technologies such as nuclear batteries and nuclear-powered rockets. The instrument will enable the Utah Office of Energy Development to resolve specific technical problems in these energy fields during component and system development.

Performance takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a period of performance from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027. The award is structured as a Project Grant, assistance type for congressionally directed funding.

At the utah office of energy development, we are equipping our laboratories to research a variety of potential sustainable energy solutions such as advanced fossil fuel power, next generation nuclear power, hydrogen, and other nuclear power applications such as nuclear batteries and nuclear-powered rockets. One aspect that all these technologies have in common is that the integrity of these systems under extreme operating conditions must be verified on the microscopic level during development, to ensure that these products and applications are robust enough to function commercially. A helios focused ION beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) acquired with congressionally directed funding will be used in research at our center to solve specific technical problems in these energy fields.