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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
G. L. Morgan, K. R. Alrick, D. W. Bowman, F. C. Cverna, N. S. P. King, P. E. Littleton, G. A. Greene, A. L. Hanson, C. L. Snead, Jr., J. M. Hall, J. Frehaut, X. Ledoux, S. Leray, E. Petibon, R. T. Thompson, P. D. Ferguson, E. A. Henry, T. E. Ward
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 151 | Number 3 | November 2005 | Pages 293-304
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE05-A2548
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Integral neutron production was measured by the manganese-activation technique, on targets semiprototypic of spallation-neutron-driven transmutation systems, after irradiation by 400-MeV to 2.0-GeV protons. The purpose of these experiments was to provide data to benchmark nuclear transport codes for targets irradiated by protons in this energy range, as well as to evaluate design options to maximize the production of spallation neutrons in various targets under consideration. These computer codes are used to design accelerator systems that will utilize spallation neutrons for the generation of tritium, transmutation of nuclear waste, production of radioisotopes, and other scientific investigations. Some of the targets used in this investigation were semiprototypic of the proposed Accelerator Production of Tritium target. Other targets were included to provide data to test the computational models in the codes. Total neutron production is the main factor that determines the economics of transmutation for a particular accelerator design. Comparisons of the data reported here with calculations from computer simulations show agreement to within 15% over the entire energy region for most of the targets.