The project seeks to recycle some used fuel elements from the DOE’s Advanced Test Reactor into high-assay low-enriched uranium. According to the request for applications for the project, issued in April, there are 3,400 used fuel elements from the ATR in storage at INL representing about 3 tHM of enriched uranium.
The DOE-EM RFA was issued alongside a separate RFA from the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy seeking proposals from private companies interested in leveraging the DOE’s authorization process to design, construct, and operate nuclear fuel recycling, reprocessing, and fabrication facilities. The DOE is not providing funding for either RFA, and applicants will be responsible for all project costs.
According to the DOE-EM RFA, the DOE “anticipates the demonstration will be conducted on a scale that demonstrates the complete steady-state recycling operation, including UNF [used nuclear fuel] handling, recycling, product separation, and waste management. The demonstration should be conducted using prototypical process equipment.”
Applicant review: DOE-EM evaluators are now reviewing the submitted applications. The selected company or companies will receive a long-term lease of federal land at INL’s Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). According to DOE-EM, the selected company or companies will be “responsible for the full life cycle of the new facility, from design and financing through construction, operations, and eventual decommissioning.”
DOE-EM said that the “chosen partner or partners will be positioned to lead the effort to unlock value from EM’s used fuel inventory, supplying HALEU for advanced reactors that utilities, technology developers, and national security programs are increasingly counting on as demand for nuclear-generated electricity accelerates nationwide.”
This project is in response to President Trump’s May 2025 executive orders directing the DOE to identify uranium and plutonium materials suitable for recycling into reactor fuel and to rebuild the domestic nuclear industrial base and strengthen U.S. energy independence.
Paul Murray, DOE-EM senior advisor for used nuclear fuel and high-level waste, said that the transition to the selection phase “is a pivotal moment for the program. We've moved from gathering ideas to choosing the partner who will carry this mission forward.”
Nuclear dominance: The DOE-EM-sponsored fuel recycling demonstration is related to a DOE initiative called the Nuclear Dominance—3 by 33 campaign, which began in April. This initiative has the main objective of achieving three goals by 2033: 1) catalyze a secure and cost-competitive domestic fuel supply chain; 2) accelerate advanced reactor deployment and close the fuel cycle; and 3) explore how the Defense Production Act framework can be used to grow and align workforce, finance, innovation, and collaboration in support of nuclear buildout.
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