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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
Sebahattin Ünalan, S. Orhan Akansu, Hanifi Saraç
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 43 | Number 2 | March 2003 | Pages 230-249
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A263
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In an inertial fusion energy (IFE) reactor of 1000-MW(electric) fusion power, 95% flibe and 5% fuel with DRc thickness instead of 100% flibe are used. At startup, the tritium breeding ratio and M-blanket energy multiplication ratio are 1.05 and 1.26 for UF4 and DRc [approximately equal to] 60 cm, respectively. These values increase during an operation period of 30 yr. In 11 yr, M increases from 1.26 to 2 [= 2000 MW(electric)]. After operation of 11 yr, the energy production is stabilized by means of separation of produced plutonium. After 30 yr, displacement per atom (dpa) and helium production in the first wall are calculated as 92 dpa and 590 ppm, respectively. In addition, the cost of electricity values of the HYLIFE-II and the improved HYLIFE-II of 2000 MW(electric) drop from 4.5 and 3.2 ¢/kWh to 4.18 and 3.00 ¢/kWh, respectively. On the other hand, the IFE reactor has the fissile fuel breeding potential of 70 tonnes. The fissile fuel of 45 tonnes corresponding to [approximately equal to]2350 kg/yr would be sufficient to provide makeup fuel for [approximately equal to]10 light water reactors after 11 yr. After the shutdown process, 25 tonnes of fissile fuel with fuel enrichment of 23% would be left over.