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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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August 2026
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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.
UWC 2022 speaker
Xcel Energy
Patrick Burke is Nuclear Vice President Strategy. Responsible for developing the strategy and business plans for the Nuclear Business Unit of Xcel Energy. This includes leading the Innovation, Government and Policy, Transformation, Nuclear Services and used fuel strategies.
He previously held the Nuclear Vice President, Engineering and Technical Services position for Xcel Energy responsible for fleet engineering, capital projects, refueling outages, new fuels and used fuels storage functions.
Prior to that he served as the Vice President Capital Projects leading the fleet capital projects department as well as dry fuels storage and the corporate outage departments.
Patrick received his bachelor science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds a BWR Senior Reactor Operator certification, and has been a registered professional engineering in the state of Minnesota, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute.
Last modified July 15, 2022, 8:37am EDT
