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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.
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by RPD
Tuesday, November 15, 2022|10:00–11:45AM MST|Sonoran 8
Session Chairs:
Yasir Arafat
John Jackson (INL)
Alternate Chair:
Abdalla Abou-Jaoude
Session Organizer:
The purpose of the DOE MARVEL project is to develop, in an accelerated timeline, a nuclear microreactor applications test bed at INL to perform research and development on various operational features of microreactors to ultimately prove and improve the integration of microreactors to end-user applications. Through the DOE Microreactor Program, the development of this nuclear testbed provides an opportunity to establish and exercise key capabilities that support future reactor demonstrations by (1) providing an early-stage platform for potential end users of microreactor systems, (2) deploying the first small-scale R&D reactor in ~50 years to support new capability development, (3) facilitating outreach activity with stakeholders interested in novel nuclear energy applications (e.g., hydrogen production, process heating, water purifications), and (4) investigating and addressing issues relating to fabrication, assembly, rapid installation, deployment, and operation of microreactors. The panel will shine a light on their areas of work to enable microreactors and their integration with end users, and how the novel MARVEL Microreractor plays a role in their mission.
John Jackson
Microreactor Program & MARVEL
INL
Alice Caponiti
U.S. DOE
Jhansi Kandasamy
INL Net Zero Director
Jacopo Buongiorno
TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Director of Science