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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Latest News
Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
Alex Valentine, Thomas Berry, Steven Bradnam, Hari Chohan, Tim Eade, Callum Grove, James Hagues, Keir Hearn, James Hodson, Kimberley Lennon, Jonathan Naish, Joseph Neilson, Chantal Nobs, Lee Packer, Andrew Turner, Anthony Turner, Luke Woodall, Ross Worrall
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 8 | November 2023 | Pages 1008-1022
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2022.2141528
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Global research programs seeking to achieve a commercially viable model of a fusion power plant are being accelerated at an unprecedented rate. One critical element to the design and licensing is an accurate understanding of the radiation environment throughout the plant lifetime and subsequent decommissioning phase. The radiation field, which results from the nuclear fusion reaction, gives rise to highly complex phenomena such as flux leakage, materials activation, and decay gamma fields. Demonstration of compliance with limits, the integrity of components, and the permissibility of operations are all fundamental to regulatory approval and the overall safety of a nuclear device. As such, neutronics, which is used in the general sense to refer to the mapping of radiation fields in nuclear devices, is a critical design driver. The Applied Radiation Technology group at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a world leader in this field, developing new methods and deploying state-of-the-art codes to conduct nuclear analysis. As well as applied neutronics in areas spanning fusion reactors, medical applications, spallation neutron sources, and nuclear fission, there is an extensive parallel experimental program undertaking critical radiation field characterization and conducting measurements using an array of bespoke particle detection systems. This paper highlights recent technical developments made by this group in the context of outstanding challenges in this field, as well as providing an overview of current methods and capabilities for the broader interest of the community.