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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.
R. E. Chrien, H. I. Liou, M. J. Kenny, M. L. Stelts
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 72 | Number 2 | November 1979 | Pages 202-215
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE79-A19464
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The cross sections for neutron interactions with thorium targets were measured at several energies. Capture cross sections at 0.0253 eV and at 2 and 24.3 keV were measured by activation techniques. Transmission measurements were made from 10 to 100 eV, and capture cross sections were determined from 0.03 to 15 eV by recording discrete lines for the (n,γ) spectrum. The measured thermal cross section is 7.41 ± 0.08 b, at 2 keV the cross section is 1.96 ± 0.10 b, and at 24.3 keV it is 0.540 ± 0.014 b. These values are reported relative to an assumed 231Pa branching ratio of 38.5% for the 311-keV gamma ray, and they do not include the branching ratio error. The results are fitted to R-matrix parameters. The transmission and (n,γ) measurements lead to parameters that give a somewhat higher epithermal capture than previously expected in thorium. This result brings the differential data into better agreement with experiments on subcritical assemblies.