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Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr.
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 10 | Number 4 | August 1961 | Pages 331-336
doi.org/10.13182/NSE61-A15374
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Given a region occupied by uniformly distributed moderator, it is conjectured that, to achieve a reactor with maximum prompt neutron lifetime, the fuel should be distributed uniformly throughout the region. This conjecture is shown to be valid for a large class of thermal reactors which can be described by a multigroup diffusion model.