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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.
Christopher C. Pain, Matthew D. Eaton, Jefferson L. M. A. Gomes, Cassiano R. E. de Oliveira, Adrian P. Umpleby, Kemal Ziver, Ron T. Ackroyd, Bryan Miles, Antony J. H. Goddard, H. van Dam, T. H. J. J. van der Hagen, D. Lathouwers
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 144 | Number 3 | July 2003 | Pages 242-257
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE03-A2357
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Previous work into the space-dependent kinetics of the conceptual nuclear fluidized bed has highlighted the sensitivity of fission power to particle movements within the bed. The work presented in this paper investigates a method of stabilizing the fission power by making it less sensitive to fuel particle movement. Steady-state neutronic calculations are performed to obtain a suitable design that is stable to radial and axial fuel particle movements in the bed. Detailed spatial/temporal simulations performed using the finite element transient criticality (FETCH) code investigate the dynamics of the new reactor design. A dual requirement of the design is that it has a moderate power output of ~300 MW(thermal).