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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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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. H. Kittel, S. Greenberg, S. H. Paine, J. E. Draley
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 2 | Number 4 | July 1957 | Pages 431-449
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE57-A25408
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three corrosion-resistant uranium-base alloys, U-3 weight per cent Nb, U-5 weight per cent Zr-1½ weight per cent Nb, and U-3.8 weight per cent Si (U3Si) were irradiated to burnups of 0.1 atomic per cent or less. Observations were made of irradiation-induced length changes in specimens of the alloys as influenced by the method of fabrication and heat treatment, and of changes in aqueous corrosion resistance resulting from irradiation. It was found that the uranium-niobium alloy was unsuitable from the standpoint of dimensional and surface stability, and its corrosion resistance was destroyed by irradiation. The uranium-zirconium-niobium alloy could be nominally stabilized under irradiation and its corrosion resistance was destroyed by between 0.046 and 0.074 atomic per cent burnup. The uranium-silicon alloy was relatively stable under irradiation and showed no increase in corrosion rate at 290°C after 0.090 atomic per cent burnup, although cracking occurred after several days corrosion testing.