Standard Nuclear Inc. has been conditionally selected by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for a pilot program for producing nuclear fuel aimed at supporting the development of advanced reactors.
“Standard Nuclear (Oak Ridge, Tennessee) is the first conditional selection under DOE’s new pilot program and will leverage the department’s authorization process to ensure a robust supply of nuclear fuel in both Tennessee and Idaho”, DOE said in a statement online.
Standard Nuclear says it owns commercial-scale facilities covering 19,000 square feet on its 36.8-acre campus at the former K-25 Nuclear site in Oak Ridge. The company says its fully permitted radiological facilities manufacture and supply TRISO (tristructural isotropic particle) fuel forms with different specifications for commercial and government customers.
“The advanced fuel is in high demand as reactor developers get ready to test their designs that utilize TRISO fuel”, the DOE statement said.
“Standard Nuclear will be responsible for all costs associated with the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the facility.
“Reactor project developers will manage the sourcing of nuclear material feedstock for fuel fabrication, which could be acquired through DOE’s high-assay low-enriched uranium allocation program”.
“With President Trump’s leadership, the Energy Department is moving at a rapid pace to unleash innovation and maintain American leadership in nuclear energy development”, said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “Advanced nuclear reactors will be a game-changer for the U.S., and with that comes the need to fabricate the fuel for these reactors.
“The DOE is partnering private sector innovation with DOE expertise to assure stronger U.S. nuclear supply lines”.
Last June, Standard Nuclear announced $42 million in funding led by Decisive Point with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, Welara, Fundomo and Crucible Capital.
“As power demands surge for data centers, energy-intensive industries, and transportable energy solutions in defense and remote locations, Standard Nuclear is focused exclusively on supporting the advanced nuclear fuel supply chain through scaled production of TRISO, a critical and highly durable fuel for advanced nuclear reactors”, the company said in a statement June 11.
“Next-generation nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors and micro reactors, will drive the future of reliable and flexible energy, but these systems require specialized advanced nuclear fuels to unlock their full potential”, Standard Nuclear said. “Currently, few companies are producing TRISO fuel, and production is limited to small batches for their own proprietary reactor designs.
“As the country’s first and only independent TRISO fuel manufacturer without reactor development operations of its own, Standard Nuclear’s model strengthens the advanced reactor supply chain by providing a reliable, independent source of fuel”.
The DOE’s Fuel Line Pilot Program, announced July, seeks U.S. companies to build and operate production facilities outside of national laboratories under the DOE authorization process. It supports the Reactor Pilot Program announced June.
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