The concept: Shine and Standard Nuclear have agreed to spend one year exploring joint development opportunities and commercial relationships to take advantage of the energy remaining in nuclear fuel once it has been removed from a reactor. The partnership “lays the groundwork for a closed-loop, circular economic solution to domestic nuclear fuel production,” according to Shine.
If Shine successfully builds a used fuel recycling facility that can produce “uranium, plutonium for advanced reactor fuels, as well as heat-generating isotopes like strontium-90 (Sr-90) and americium-241 (Am-241),” Standard Nuclear is a potential customer that could buy those materials for use “in TRISO fuel production and to provide isotopes for its radioisotope power systems.”
Sourcing TRISO: With the USNC-origin TRISO fuel technology and facilities now separated from USNC’s microreactor technology (purchased by Nano Nuclear), Standard Nuclear considers itself a “reactor-agnostic” producer of TRISO nuclear fuel and radioisotope power systems. The company says it is “supported by leading U.S. defense technology and critical infrastructure investment firms.”
Many, but not all, non–light water reactor designs would use TRISO particle fuel formed into pellets or spheres. BWX Technologies and TRISO-X (X-energy’s fuel arm) are also planning to manufacture TRISO fuel.
An appetite for recycling: Shine expects to begin construction of its first commercial recycling facility in the early 2030s, according to the company’s press release, with the capacity to process 100 metric tons of used fuel per year. Ultimately, Shine hopes to scale up a technology that could recycle the nation’s used nuclear fuel, estimated at about 90,000 metric tons.
President Trump’s May 23 executive order (EO) “Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security” called for accelerating used nuclear fuel recycling and specifically ordered the secretary of defense and the secretary of energy to “utilize all available legal authorities to site, approve, and authorize the design, construction, and operation of privately-funded nuclear fuel recycling, reprocessing, and reactor fuel fabrication technologies at identified sites controlled by their respective agencies for the purpose of fabricating fuel forms for use in national security reactors, commercial power reactors, and non-power research reactors.”
An ANS Executive Order Expert Advisory Group convened to offer input on implementation of the four EOs issued on May 23 noted that the order quoted above “essentially makes the recycling of spent nuclear fuel the official policy of the U.S. government. This action is consistent with ANS Position Statement #3, which calls for a ‘clear energy policy on used nuclear fuel recycling.’”
Development and licensing work remain to be done before Shine or other fuel recycling companies are ready to operate a facility that produces a stream of usable recycled uranium. Much recent fuel recycling research has focused on processes designed to avoid isolating plutonium because of the risk of diversion for weapons production.
Quotes: “We see tremendous value in recovered materials from used nuclear fuel for our fuel manufacturing processes and radioisotope power systems,” said Kurt Terrani, CEO of Standard Nuclear. “Our partnership with Shine creates new pathways for transforming used nuclear fuel into productive energy resources that strengthen domestic fuel security.”
"Our partnership with Standard Nuclear is an important step toward closing the nuclear fuel cycle and making nuclear energy renewable," said Greg Piefer, founder and CEO of Shine. "Recycling requires processors like Shine, fuel fabricators, utilities, and offtake partners for other recycled goods. Standard Nuclear fits the bill for two of these roles, serving both as a fuel fabricator and as a manufacturer of nuclear batteries. Together, we’re building the ecosystem needed to turn waste into a strategic asset and move closer to a future where clean energy is both practical and sustainable.”
