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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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LLNL, Ampera partner to develop thorium-based TRISO fuel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has formed a strategic partnership with Ampera to develop the company’s nuclear fuel concept through a project named THUNDER, for Thorium Unimodal Droplet Ejection for Reactors.
The focus of THUNDER is fabricating TRISO made with kernels of thorium rather than the usual uranium. LLNL and Ampera will evaluate and optimize liquid metal–jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical kernels of thorium-232 for later processing into TRISO fuel.
Technical Session|Sponsored by IRD|Cosponsored by THD
Monday, June 16, 2025|1:00–2:45PM CDT|Lincolnshire 1/2
Session Chair:
Carol Sizemore (ORNL)
Alternate Chair:
Dhongik Yoon (ANL)
Session Organizer:
Erik Wilson (ANL)
Track Organizer:
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Progress on LEU U-10Mo Fuel Element Design, Testing, and Safety Analysis for Conversion of U.S. High Performance Research Reactors
1:00–1:20PM CDT
Kyle E. Anderson (ANL), Erik H. Wilson (ANL), Lin-Wen Hu (MIT), Maria Pinilla (Univ. Missouri Research Reactor), Abudullah Weiss (Nat'l Institute of Standards & Technology), Dhongik S. Yoon (ANL), John A. Stillman (ANL), Valerio Mascolino (ANL), Firat Cetinbas (ANL), Andrew S. Hebden (ANL)
Paper
Concepts for a High-Power Thermal Test Reactor Using LEU Fuel
1:20–1:40PM CDT
Michael Worrall (INL), Matthew Johnson (INL), Brandon H. Harroff (MPR Assoc.)
Presented by Jad Jaber (MPR Assoc.)
Advanced Test Reactor Low Enriched Uranium U-10Mo Element Test Campaign
1:40–2:00PM CDT
Bryon J. Curnutt (INL), Eric Woolstenhulme (INL), Jad Jaber (MPR Assoc.)
Research and Test Reactor Conversion Analysis Software and Verification Under NQA-1
2:00–2:20PM CDT
Justin W. Thomas (ANL), Walid Mohamed (ANL), Aurelien X. Bergeron (ANL), Erik H. Wilson (ANL)
Safety and Performance Evaluation of a Proposed Low-Power Irradiation of an LEU Fuel Element in the MITR Fission Converter Experimental Facility
2:20–2:40PM CDT
Caroline J. Sears (MIT), Lin-Wen Hu (MIT), Benoit Forget (MIT), Kyle E. Anderson (ANL), Valerio Mascolino (ANL), Tyler S. Sumner (ANL), Se Ro Yang (ANL), Erik H. Wilson (ANL)