Final set of irradiation capsules achieve more than 60 GWd/MTU of burnup
US nuclear fuel company Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) has announced a major milestone for advanced fuels with its patented Aneel fuel completing its high burnup irradiation test in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
The final set of irradiation capsules have achieved more than 60 GWd/MTU* of burnup, representing more than eight times the typical discharge burnup of traditional pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) and Canada Deuterium Uranium (Candu) reactors.
CCTE said the testing highlights the potential of Aneel fuel to dramatically improve fuel utilisation in existing reactor fleets and paves the way for near term commercialisation.
The significance of higher burnups derived from Aneel fuel translates to several operational benefits when integrated with the existing reactor design: reduced nuclear spent fuel volumes, improved reactor economics, enhanced safety performance and improved proliferation resistance.
CCTE said the irradiation results build on decades of global research into thorium fuel cycles to improve fuel utilisation and resource efficiency in existing PHWR fleets without reactor modifications.
The ATR irradiation campaign involved as Aneel fuel rodlets that were loaded into the reactor in May 2024 and designed to reach three burnup targets: 20, 40, and 60 GWd/MTU.
Eight rodlets exceeded the first two burnup targets last year and are currently undergoing post-irradiation examination at INL’s materials and fuels complex. Less than two years after irradiation began, the remaining four rodlets have now reached the highest burnup target, over 60 GWd/MTU, and will be transferred to the materials and fuels complex following a short cooling period.
“The irradiation campaign represents an important step in generating real-world performance data for Aneel fuel under reactor conditions,” CCTE said. “Results obtained during post-irradiation examination will provide detailed insight into fuel behaviour, microstructure and performance at high burnup levels.”
Aneel is Clean Core’s patented nuclear fuel technology combining thorium with enriched uranium. Aneel is designed to achieve higher burnup and improved fuel utilisation in a once-through fuel cycle, with the potential to reduce long-lived spent fuel volumes per unit of energy generated and strengthen proliferation resistance.
* GWd/MTU is gigawatt-days per metric ton of uranium, a unit measuring nuclear fuel burnup, or the total energy extracted from fuel during reactor operation.
