A coalition led by the Port of Benton is working to accelerate the transition to advanced clean energy technologies in the Northwest and beyond. 

Washington VERTical was established in 2022, and it recently received a second round of funding to continue forging ahead with its efforts.

The group, one of several innovation clusters in the state focused on different sectors, grew out of work the Port of Benton already was doing in the region. With Washington VERTical, “we wanted to take a deeper dive into helping support advanced nuclear and fuels and other clean energy projects needed for advanced manufacturing,” said Diahann Howard, port executive director.

The Washington State Department of Commerce invested in Washington VERTical through its Innovation Cluster Accelerator Program. 

Other clusters in the program range from the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Cluster, or PNAC, which is working to advance aerospace manufacturing competitiveness; to the Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster, or WAV-C, which is working on advancing unpiloted and autonomous vehicles.

Like Washington VERTical, the other clusters are industry-led.

Washington VERTical wrapped up its initial phase of work last year, and it’s been awarded $300,000 from the state to continue its efforts. 

The coalition has a sizable list of immediate goals for 2024, including hosting a clean energy day and supplier forum, and launching Washington State University Tri-Cities, Columbia Basin College and Tri-Tech Skills Center clean energy sector-focused certification programs. It’s also continuing its work to draw advanced reactors or related clean energy technology companies and to support proposed projects that are in various stages of development. 

“We’re helping grow our existing companies here in the region and working to attract new ones,” Howard told the Journal of Business.

Those existing companies include Framatome, which plans to expand its nuclear fuel manufacturing operation on Horn Rapids Road in Richland in two phases. The expansion is crucial to meeting future energy needs and supporting industry decarbonization strategies, the company has said.

The two phases are planned to add more than 200 new jobs and cost about $370 million combined. Preliminary work for Phase 1 – a prototype manufacturing line to build TRISO fuel particles for the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s Micro Modular Reactor – is happening now.

Washington VERTical has helped bring key agencies together to advance the company’s next-generation nuclear fuel efforts, Howard said.

“When they were talking about their collaboration with Ultra Safe and others, we were with them at the table,” she said. “We help those relationships. We help showcase what we have to offer as a region and as a community, convene those types of meetings and help support those kinds of projects.”

The coalition has more than 100 members, from Framatome to Energy Northwest and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, among many others. 

Howard has been acting as the executive director since Washington VERTical’s inception. Prominence Public Relations recently has been brought on board to help with communications.

Howard said coalition partners have been “keeping our heads down, doing the work” since the effort began, and they’re now looking now to share more about the group. They’re planning to offer more networking and events to ramp up engagement, she said.

When it comes to Washington VERTical, “I think it’s important for people to understand that there’s a focused effort around helping to support our existing companies, recruiting new and supporting the development of advanced reactors and advanced nuclear. That’s an important message,” she said.