AMS awarded nuclear energy voucher from U.S. Department of Energy

KNOXVILLE — Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS), a leading nuclear technology consulting firm headquartered in Knoxville, has been awarded a Nuclear Energy (NE) voucher under the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative, which aims to provide advanced nuclear technology innovators with access to the facilities and expertise available across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory complex. DOE established GAIN to provide the nuclear community with the technical, regulatory, and financial support necessary to move innovative nuclear energy technologies toward commercialization, while ensuring the continued safe, reliable, and economic operation of the existing nuclear fleet. This is the second GAIN voucher AMS has received over the past two years. AMS was selected as one of only two companies to receive an award during this round of awards for its proposal “Testing of Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Sensors and Cables for Small Module Reactors (SMRs)”.

With this GAIN NE voucher, AMS will work with scientists at the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to test the performance of I&C sensors and cables for future reactors. These I&C components are essential to the safe and efficient operation of a nuclear reactor and power plant as a whole, and the work performed under this GAIN NE voucher will support the successful deployment of the first U.S.-based SMR by the mid-2020s.

AMS Research Engineer and project manager Alex Hashemian said: “AMS is fortunate to receive this NE voucher, and we are eager to contribute to the future of nuclear energy. AMS is excited to leverage this opportunity to expand its technical capabilities and commercial offering as the United States aims to maintain its position as a global leader in nuclear energy technologies.”

Established in 1977 in Knoxville with nearly 100 employees and representatives in Austria, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, AMS provides the worldwide nuclear industry with products and services to measure instrumentation and control (I&C) performance and verify compliance with technical specifications and regulatory requirements. In addition to performing field measurements in nuclear power plants, AMS carries out equipment development, laboratory testing, technical training, and high-level technology research and development projects for a number of national and international organizations and governmental agencies.

Published December 12, 2019