Hammack discusses energy research and development in suburban Pittsburgh
Cleveland Fed president and chief executive officer Beth M. Hammack toured Westinghouse’s eVinci® Microreactor Accelerator Hub in Etna, Pennsylvania.
Cleveland Fed president and CEO Beth M. Hammack toured Westinghouse’s eVinci® Microreactor Accelerator Hub in Etna, Pennsylvania, to learn how a Fourth District business is working on new ways to develop energy.
Cleveland Fed president and CEO Beth Hammack listens to a Westinghouse employee explain the eVinci® reactor technology (May 28, 2025)
According to the Public Utility Commission of Pennsylvania, the state is facing a “dramatic surge in energy demand” due in part to the energy requirements of data centers.1 In the Pittsburgh region specifically, energy shortages are anticipated by 2030, while the demand for energy is expected to continue to increase.2
Westinghouse is currently developing the eVinci® Microreactor, a relatively small nuclear reactor, which is expected to eventually be able to power places like communities in remote areas or data centers.
Hammack toured the 87,000-square-foot facility, where research and development are ongoing. The facility also includes space for creating and producing heat pipes that are central to the eVinci® technology. According to Westinghouse, the microreactor will use heat pipes that are designed to passively remove heat from the reactor rather than more traditional methods like coolant or water.
Construction of the eVinci® Accelerator Hub has been supported by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,3 and development of the microreactor has also been supported by the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy and Advanced Research Projects Agency.4
Sample heat pipe display at the eVinci® Microreactor Accelerator Hub (June 26, 2025)
While in the Pittsburgh area, Hammack also met with the Cleveland Fed’s Southwest Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia Business Advisory Council (BAC). Council members across sectors shared with Hammack how the high level of economic uncertainty is impacting the region’s companies, organizations, and communities.
Business Advisory Council member Jeremy Kronman talks with Hammack following the BAC meeting (May 28, 2025)
About President Beth M. Hammack’s Around the District tour
President Hammack is visiting communities across the Fourth District as part of her Around the District tour to meet and connect with the people who live and work in all corners of the region and to gain a better understanding of how the economy is working in different communities. The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Hammack will use this information to inform her policy views and better represent the Fourth District around the Federal Open Market Committee table.
Footnotes
- Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. 2025. “Reminder: PUC Hearing to Examine Data Center Surge and Impact on Pennsylvania’s Power Grid.” April 21, 2025. https://www.puc.pa.gov/press-release/2025/reminder-puc-hearing-to-examine-data-center-surge-and-impact-on-pennsylvania-s-power-grid-04212025. Return to 1
- Allegheny Conference on Community Development. 2025. “Energy Agenda 2025-2026.” https://www.alleghenyconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Energy-Backgrounder.pdf. Return to 2
- Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. 2023. “Westinghouse to Develop Innovative eVinci Microreactor in Latest Clean Energy Win for Pennsylvania Under Governor Shapiro’s Leadership.” October 24, 2023. https://dced.pa.gov/newsroom/westinghouse-to-develop-innovative-evinci-microreactor-in-latest-clean-energy-win-for-pennsylvania-under-governor-shapiros-leadership/. Return to 3
- Office of Nuclear Energy. 2024. “Westinghouse Completes Study for First eVinci Microreactor Experiment.” US Department of Energy. November 16, 2024. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/westinghouse-completes-study-first-evinci-microreactor-experiment. Return to 4
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Beth M. Hammack
Beth M. Hammack is the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, one of 12 regional Reserve Banks in the Federal Reserve System.
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