Westinghouse Electric Company was awarded a grant from the United Kingdom’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to support the development of advanced nuclear fuel.
Westinghouse, in collaboration with uranium enrichment firm Urenco and nuclear engineering company TRISO-X will complete a Pre-Front End Engineering Design study for a secure and reliable supply of advanced TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuels.
The work will occur at Westinghouse’s Springfields Fuels Ltd. facility in Preston, Lancashire and aims to support a range of potential high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technologies in development.
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“This award is an important step in creating commercial-scale advanced fuel production in the UK at our Springfields facility for the reactors of tomorrow,” said Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse president and CEO.
Boris Schucht, Urenco CEO, said: “Security of energy supply and realising crucial climate change goals requires the evolution of the nuclear fuel cycle. This includes a focus on producing the next generation of fuels. Urenco is committed to this development and is pleased to be collaborating with the UK nuclear industry and Government to achieve an enhanced service for global utilities and wider benefits for society.”
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TRISO fuel
The US Department of Energy states that each TRISO particle is made up of a uranium, carbon and oxygen fuel kernel. The kernel is encapsulated by three layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive fission products.
The particles are incredibly small and very robust and can be fabricated into cylindrical pellets or billiard ball-sized spheres called “pebbles” for use in either high temperature gas or molten salt-cooled reactors.
TRISO fuels are structurally more resistant to neutron irradiation, corrosion, oxidation and high temperatures (the factors that most impact fuel performance) than traditional reactor fuels, which makes it a more attractive fuel type.
