Canadian Nuclear Laboratories has signed an agreement with Chicago-based Clean Core Thorium Energy to manufacture demonstration irradiation bundles of Clean Core’s ANEEL (Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life) fuel. The fuel is made with a combination of thorium and high-assay low-enriched uranium and is designed for use in pressurized heavy water reactors, such as Canada’s CANDU fleet.

Clean Core Thorium Energy (Clean Core) announced November 12 that test rodlets of its patented thorium-uranium fuel design known as ANEEL (advanced nuclear energy for enriched life) have reached a burnup milestone in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory.

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory will soon be irradiating fuel pellets containing thorium and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) developed by Clean Core Thorium Energy for use in pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs). Clean Core announced on June 14 that it will proceed with irradiation testing and qualification under an agreement with the Department of Energy; the plans have been in the works since at least 2020, when the DOE filed a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) disclosure for the work.