DOE to use spent EBR-II fuel for reactor research
The U.S. Department of Energy has determined that it would be safe to use High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) that is stored at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to fabricate fuel at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC).
The work may also include the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) to help U.S. companies develop and deploy new reactor technologies.
DOE said the process would not have a significant impact on the environment and would be an important tool for advancing safe, economical, and low carbon nuclear energy.
The environmental assessment was released October 31 and a public comment period ran through November 30. A final Environmental Assessment was posted last week.
DOE has used an electrometallurgical treatment process at MFC to refine and down-blend sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel. That fuel contains highly-enriched uranium material generated decades ago in the Experimental Breed Reactor-II (EBR-2). One product of that process is a limited amount of HALEU. About 10 metric tons is currently stored at INL.
DOE plans to utilize the MFC and INTEC to convert the HALEU into fuel for research and development purposes.
HALEU contains a higher enrichment of Uranium-235 than fuel used in the current fleet of U.S. power reactors. There are no commercial facilities in the U.S. currently producing the material and several advanced nuclear reactor designers are interested in using it. According to DOE, their designs could achieve higher efficiencies and longer core lifetimes.
The decision clears DOE to fabricate HALEU nuclear fuel for research applications. Construction and operation of any reactors that propose to use the HALEU fuel will require additional environmental review.
