SECURING URANIUM | FUEL & FUEL CYCLE
Fuel reprocessing will be explored at Idaho National Laboratory under a new Office of Environmental Management initiative. Source: INL
new Requests for Application to advance capabilities in recycling used nuclear fuel in April. The request from the Office of Nuclear Energy (ONE) seeks proposals from industry on detailed plans to leverage its Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) process to accelerate the design, construction and operation of nuclear fuel recycling, processing, and fuel fabrication facilities. Applicants will be responsible for all project costs, but the DOE anticipates entering commercial agreements with successful applicants. In addition, the DOE may provide resources that include access to department sites and facilities for testing and deployment, the use of DOE-owned spent fuel for testing or recycling, and access to expertise at DOE national laboratories. Meanwhile, the Office of Environmental Management is aiming for proposals from private industry for a commercial-scale demonstration project for recycling defence-related used nuclear fuel at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) within the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. INTEC was established in the 1950s as the Chemical Processing Plant to recover usable uranium in spent nuclear fuel used in government reactors. Over the years the facility recovered more than $1bn worth of highly enriched uranium, which was returned to the government fuel cycle. However, in 1992, the DOE announced that a lack of demand for highly enriched uranium made reprocessing no longer necessary. Now though, with energy independence high on the political agenda, reprocessing spent fuel is again considered viable. As ONE Assistant Secretary Ted Garrish, said in a statement: “Used nuclear fuel represents immense, untapped energy resource for the United States”. Garrish added that the DOE is “partnering with the private sector in advancing a circular nuclear economy by transforming used fuel from waste into a valuable resource. These efforts are designed to deliver reliable power, reduce waste volumes, and re-energise the commercial nuclear sector.” The selected company will secure a long-term lease
for property at INTEC and will be responsible for the full lifecycle of a dedicated recycling facility encompassing its financing, design, permitting, fabrication, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and eventual
decommissioning. The Advanced Nuclear Fuel Recycling programme aims to accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors for national security under DOE authority. Both RFAs strive to leverage private capital and expertise to accelerate critical infrastructure development in support of President Trump’s executive orders EO14299, ‘Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security’ and EO 14302, ‘Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base’ to advance efforts to strengthen the nuclear industrial base and US energy independence. In a related development, ONE has also announced that it is kicking off another new initiative to secure the nation’s nuclear fuel supply chain. Through the Defense Production Act (DPA) Nuclear Fuel Cycle Consortium, the federal government will work with the domestic nuclear industry to secure enough nuclear fuel to power the current fleet as well as future advanced reactors. Comprised of representatives from more than 90 companies, the initiative will address the full fuel supply chain including milling, conversion, enrichment, deconversion, fabrication, recycling, and reprocessing, focusing on three key goals. Under the “Nuclear Dominance – 3 by 33” campaign, the Consortium aims to catalyse a secure and cost-competitive domestic fuel supply chain, accelerate advanced reactor deployment and close the fuel cycle, and explore how the DPA framework can be activated to grow and align workforce, finance, innovation and collaboration in support of nuclear build out. These three goals are targeted for 2033. The ultimate aim of the DPA Consortium is to end US reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials. “The Consortium’s work comes at a pivotal time for
nuclear energy growth in our country,” said Garrish, adding that he is “looking forward to rapid progress on near-term goals to achieve a robust American-made supply of nuclear fuel.”
Burn-up, enrichment and conversion While DOE’s used fuel recycling programmes will be a cornerstone of a domestic fuel cycle, efforts are also underway to get more from reactor fuel in the first place.
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