Pocatello, Idaho ISU and NuCube Mark Site for Advanced Research Reactor

POCATELLO — Idaho State University and Idaho Falls–based NuCube Energy marked the site of their planned Advanced Research and Test Reactor (ART) on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, at ISU’s Business and Research Park — with Gov. Brad Little among the speakers recognizing the partnership. ISU and NuCube were selected in 2026 for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Innovation Center Launch Pad USA program.

The university plans to design and commission a compact functional microreactor on campus for education, applied research, operator training, and technology demonstration — not as a commercial power plant for the grid. What is planned The ART is designed as a small university research microreactor using NuCube’s advanced platform (TRISO fuel and heat-pipe cooling). To maximize research flexibility, the facility is intended to provide direct access to heat rather than a power-conversion system for electricity.

The surrounding campus facility is meant to support experiments, testing, student training, and next-generation energy technology work. ISU already operates an instructional research reactor (since 1965) and is one of only about two dozen U.S. universities with a nuclear reactor. It also hosts the state’s only ABET-accredited nuclear engineering undergraduate program — a track record leaders cited as central to the Launch Pad USA selection.