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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
Masatoshi Kondo et al.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | July 2009 | Pages 190-194
Tritium, Safety, and Environment | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 1) | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A8900
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Molten salt LiF-BeF2 (Flibe) is one of candidates for self-cooled tritium breeder in fusion blanket system. The Ni based alloys of Hastelloy C-276 (6.28Fe, 15.67Cr, 0.42Mn, 15.83Mo, 3.34W, Ni as balance), Inconel 600(7.02Fe, 15.75Cr, Ni as balance) and Inconel 625 (4.12Fe, 21.94Cr, 9.10Mo, Ni as balance) are candidates of structural material of blanket loop components at down stream. Corrosion characteristics of these alloys were investigated by corrosion test in static Flibe at 500°C and 600°C for 1000 hours. The corrosion rates were estimated from the weight losses of specimens, and those of Hastelloy C-276, Inconel 600 and Inconel 625 in Flibe at 600°C were 3.4m/year, 2.8m/year and 1.1m/year, respectively. The mass balance between the weight losses of specimens and the increase of impurity in Flibe by the exposure was investigated, and it was found that the corrosion was mainly caused by the depletion of Cr from the alloys. The corroded surface had high Ni concentration after the Cr depletion by corrosion, and this is expected to be corrosion resistant in Flibe.