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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Center for Used Fuel Research: Building confidence in storage and transport
Used nuclear fuel storage and transportation have reached a critical juncture.
Dozens of utilities need reliable data on how used nuclear fuel performs in dry storage casks and canisters to extend regulatory licenses at sites across the United States. Likewise, the Department of Energy expects to take ownership of the used nuclear fuel—termed “spent nuclear fuel” in the laws and regulations governing its stewardship—and transfer it to one or more federal staging facilities for management and disposition.
Meanwhile, dozens of reactor companies are testing prototypes of advanced reactors and advanced reactor fuels. Eventually, regulators and industry must also verify the safety and security of storage methods for these advanced fuel types.
To help address these challenges, the DOE established the Center for Used Fuel Research (CUFR) in January 2026 for work related to the long-term storage and transport of used nuclear fuel.
Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE 2026)
Technical Session|1. Fusion Pilot Plant Studies
Wednesday, June 3, 2026|1:15–3:00PM MDT|Grand Ballroom 2
Session Chair:
Lane B. Carasik (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
Track Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Brian Grierson (General Atomics)
Session Organizer:
Thomas Fuerst (INL)
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Introduction to the FIRE Blanket Collaborative on Test Facilities (FIRE-BCTF)
1:15–1:35PM MDT
Monica Gehrig (ORNL), Paul W. Humrickhouse (Type One Energy)
Paper
Plasma-Facing Component development under the SWIFT-PFCs (Solution-Oriented Workflow for Integrated Fusion Technology in Plasma-Facing Components) FIRE collaborative
1:35–1:55PM MDT
Ezekial Unterberg (ORNL), Mary Alice Cusentino (Sandia), Tyler Abrams (General Atomics), Travis Gray (ORNL), Yutai Katoh (ORNL), Robert Kolasinski (Sandia), Ian McCue (Northwestern Univ.), David Sprouster (Brookhaven), Jason Trelewicz (Stony Brook Univ.), Brian D. Wirth (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville)
FIRE Collaborative: Advancing the Maturity of Liquid Metal (LM) Plasma Facing Materials and First Wall Concepts
1:55–2:15PM MDT
Rajesh Maingi (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory), Lane B. Carasik (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
FIRE Collaborative: Neutron-Irradiation-Tolerant REBCO Tapes for Compact Fusion
2:15–2:35PM MDT
Venkat Selvamanickam (Univ. Houston)
Early Progress from the FIRE Collaborative on Fusion Neutrons for Integrated Blanket Technology Development Through Advanced Testing and Design
2:35–2:55PM MDT
Ben Lindley (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Juliana Pacheco Duarte (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Dan Thomas (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Cary Forest (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Hantang Qin (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Paul Wilson (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Oliver Schmitz (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Hasnaa Ouidadi (Univ. Wisconsin, Madison), Sara Ferry (MIT), Gabriel Becerra (SHINE), Craig Jacobson (Realta Fusion), Diana Grandas (EPRI), Chloe David (Rockwell Automation)
